Harry Potter and the Lightning curse
by JustBored21
Summary: The Marauders discover something during their time at school, it let them see the life of the unborn Harry Potter, the most powerful wizard of all time. They watch as he grows, falls in love and becomes the most feared man in the world. Harry x Ginny. Dumbledore/Weasley(cept ginny, twins, bill, Charlie and Arthur)/Hermione bashing.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter and the Lightning curse

Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew rushed to the hospital wing as soon as they could. Upon entering they found Sirius Black, Lilly Evans and James Potter had been assigned a bed each. Lilly had a bandaged wrapped around her arm, Sirius was desperately clutching his sides and James was holding an ice pack to his jaw.

"What happened?" Remus eyed each one of them individually

"Hold on" Peter picked up a clipboard and began reading from it "James Potter, broken jaw from being hit with a massive book. Lilly Evans, strained bicep from throwing a massive book."

"Well done" Remus looked at Lilly with pride, ignoring the bandaged arm "what about Padfoot?"

"Give us a sec, oh, apparently he kept going on about a busted gut from laughing, then James actually punched him in the gut"

"Well done" Remus spoke in an all too familiar combination of pride and amusement.

"Why did you throw a book at him anyway?" Peter asked Lilly

"Well" Lilly began "we were doing some homework and then we all started talking, about random things like classes and going out and what to do over the holidays. Then we ended up talking about our relationship, like what we would do if we had kids, then we got to talking about what our first kid would be like."

"Okay" Remus nodded, wondering where this was going. Wormtail however was less patient.

"So you threw a book at him because he talked about kids?"

"No" Lilly sighed "we had got to discussing what we would do if we had a boy. It started off talking about what he would look like, we then discussed who we'd make godparents and then we discussed what he'd probably be good at. I predicted he'd be a good cook, Potter over there, decided to remind me that only 'girls' are good at cooking."

"So? It's true ain't it?" Peter spoke, confused by the glare Lilly was now giving him.

"Here you go" Remus handed Lilly a copy of his transfiguration book, Lilly was confused temporarily before getting the joke. A smile forced itself upon her face, with that she slowly stood up and gifted Remus with a one armed hug which he returned.

"If it's any consolation I was joking Lil" James interrupted

"It wasn't funny" Lilly replied

"I thought it was" Sirius giggled

* * *

A short while later the five of them had gathered in the common room, they then subtracted themselves to four when Peter went up to sleep.

"Do any of you know what the headmaster had put in the third floor corridor?" James asked "all I know is nobody is allowed to go near it"

"No idea" Remus admitted "but it does seem important, Filch gave some Ravenclaws detention for just walking near it"

"I say we investigate" Sirius exclaimed in a childlike manner

"Well I don't" Lilly cut in, ignoring Padfoots groan "what if you get caught or what if it's dangerous?"

"Like 'The grand wizard of the light' is going to put something dangerous in a school full of children, that'd be stupid"

"Sirius is right" James agreed, after much arguing and convincing the four decided to sneak out using the cloak and map. Remus and Lilly to make sure the other two didn't get in trouble, James and Sirius simply because they were bored.

After sneaking past Filch they found the door, each one of them pondered what would be inside. Treasure? A powerful new wand? The entrance to a secret chamber? Once they entered they were greeted with a small white orb hanging in the air, purple smoke exhaled from it.

"Is that it?" Padfoot wondered

"Surely there's more to it than that" James closed the door "no way they'd give detentions and warnings for a floating orb"

"Let's Just work on what it is" Remus suggested, within that moment the smoke from the orb rose in front of it and formed words, the same words which the orb spoke,

' **I am the orb of 'Framtida'. I tell and show the future'**

"Cool" Padfoot exclaimed "do I ever manage to become an auror?"

'I do not show what you want, I show the most important thing you ever do"

"Anyone up for it?" Remus eyed the orb cautiously

"I'll do it" Lilly eventually spoke "what's the most important thing I ever do" What happened next surprised not just Lilly but everyone in attendance. The words that came next left everyone speechless

' **You die to save another'**

"Who does she die for?" James spoke nervously

" **Her child, Harry James Potter** "

Many shocked faces and whispered conversations and the odd hug occurred before the questions continued.

"Could you tell us about Harry?" Lilly spoke with a barley heard voice

' **Harrys has multiple achievements. Flying on a broom at the age of one, being five times as powerful as the average baby in regards to accidental magic. An example would be the incident in which he levitated Sirius Black into his crib'**

"He what?!" Sirius flushed with embarrassment

' **His most known achievements are defeating the wizard known as 'Voldermort' seven times as well as escaping being killed by him numerous other times, along with defeating Albus Dumbledore on numerous occasions and becoming headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.** '

Before the Marauders and their red headed companion could register the shock of what they had just heard a noise was heard.

"Filch" James deduced before everyone put on the visibility cloak and snuck back to the common room. After entering the four, sat down, more tired than they've ever been.

"I can't believe this" Remus rubbed his eyes

"Me either" Lilly shook her head

"I know, I just register the fact that your son levitated me into his crib then next thing I find out is that he not only defeated old Voldy multiple times, but he also did the same to Dumbledore. He must be insanely powerful"

"And judging by the name he's mine as well" Prongs rubbed his head through his messy hair "what should we do about this?"

"I think we should go back tomorrow" Lilly muttered "please guys, I need to know more"

Looking at the desperation in her green emerald eyes, not one of them could say no. So the next day they returned, Peter politely declined after he told them he had to go and visit his mother for a few days.

' **Ah, you've returned?** ' The orb seemed just as intrigued as the students in front of it ' **I can only assume you'd like to learn more about your son. Would you like to know some of the titles he has been given over the years?** ' A few nods and a 'yes please' later, the orb began listing

' **Harry James Potter is known as:**

 **The Chosen one**

 **The-boy-who-lived**

 **The-boy-who-survived**

 **The-boy-who-won**

 **Master of Hogwarts**

 **Heir of Gryffindor**

 **Heir of Slytherin**

 **Heir of Ravenclaw**

 **Heir of Hufflepuff**

 **Heir of Merlin**

 **Heir to the most ancient and noble house of Potter**

 **Heir to the most ancient and noble house of Black**

 **Heir to the Maurauders**

 **Messer's Bolt**

 **Defeater of Voldermort**

 **Defeater of Albus Dumbledore**

 **Friend of Goblins**

 **Friend of Wolves**

 **Friend of Elves**

 **The world's richest wizard**

 **Youngest seeker in a century**

 **Basilisk slayer**

 **Youngest Tri-wizard tournament winner ever**

 **Master of Death**

 **Master of Elemental magic**

 **Master of wand-less and silent magic**

 **Master of archery**

 **Master of hand to hand and weapon combat**

 **Inventor of the only known potion to prevent werewolf transformations**

 **Parslemouth**

 **Dragon Tamer**

 **Phoenix**

 **Savior of the wizarding world**

 **World's strongest Wizard**

 **The lightning curse** '

Not a word was said amongst the group of friends, each eyeing the other, seeing who would break first.

"Hold on, hold on!" Sirius interrupted "your son 'saved' the wizarding world? And if he's heir to my house then I'm going to assume me and him become related in some way or form. Wait did that say 'heir to the maurauders'? His marauder name is 'Bolt'?"

"I can't believe he's the heir to the Hogwarts founders and Merlin himself" Lilly managed to catch her voice "that means we're related to them, amazing."

"My son is the youngest seeker in a century and the world's strongest wizard" James beamed with pride

"Thank god he took after Lilly" Sirius replied before making an innocent face

"He…I can't believe it" Lupin was on the verge of tears "your son…invented a potion that prevented werewolf transformations, please tell us more" The others looked at Remus, not with pity or sadness, but with joy. Finally, the man had hope in his life.

' **Relax young one, I will show you, I will show you the life of Harry James potter** '

* * *

 **A.N: Hi guys, just wanted to let you know that I will be rereading this story and I'll do my best to correct any mistakes I made.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-Merlin

Prongs, Padfoot, Mooney and Lilly found themselves waking up from what felt like a light sleep. They all sat and stood up, as soon as they stood up they realized that they were no longer in Hogwarts. They found themselves standing in nothing, every direction had nothing but white.

"Are we dead?" James wondered

"Let me check" Remus slapped Sirius on the back of his head, "nope, we're not dead, my hand felt that."

"Next we don't you just slap yourself?" Sirius spoke through gritted teeth

"Nah" Remus waved his hands "not as fun"

"Focus guys" Lilly looked around, trying to make sense of what was going on "where are we?"

' **You are in my realm** ' The orbs voice echoed ' **here you shall see the life of Harry Potter** '

"Wait a sec" James interrupted "don't get me wrong, I'd love to see his life, but we don't have time to spend years looking through his life. Someone's going to notice we're missing eventually"

' **Fear not my child, my world is different to yours. A year here is a second in your world and you will age according to your world. Besides, I'm not showing you every moment of his life. Now, let us begin** '

The Marauder trio and Lilly found themselves sitting in comfy chairs, staring at a massive screen, just like a cinema. Once Lilly explained what that was, the screen activated and started playing. First it started playing random clips, Harry riding a broom at Hogwarts, Harry talking with a red-headed girl then Harry standing with a phoenix on his shoulder and a snake wrapped around his wrist before it cleared and started playing again. The audience looked on in awe and amusement as they saw young Harry being born and they watched his life all the way up to him being seven. At the point the screen paused, James found Lilly gripping his hand, and tears dripped down her eyes.

"It's alright Lilly" James wrapped a comforting arm around her

"I'm sorry" Lilly managed to get out "it's just, Voldermort kills us, but Harry. Oh, poor Harry is left with my sister and she abuses him. I knew she hates me but this is ridiculous! She starves him and let those two whales beat him. Look at him James, if he wasn't a wizard I'm sure he'd be dead!"

"I know" Sirius spoke in a growl very much like one from his animagus form "my question is where am I? I mean if I knew that they were doing that to my godson then I'd hurt them tenfold. Magic or not magic, I mean, where was I?!"

"That's not the only question here" Remus spoke in barley more than a whisper "how did young Harry survive a killing curse from Voldermort of all people?" James sighed as loud as he could

"I don't know guys but maybe we'll find out if we keep watching, if you're still up to it" James spoke to the group, but everyone knew the question was directed to Lilly

"Thanks James" She wiped away her tears "I…I want to keep watching. I… need to keep watching, I need to know what happens to my son. I…need to…I need to know it gets better."

"I'd also like to know how this poor boy becomes the most world's strongest wizard" Remus added

"Come on then, let's keep watching" James insisted and they all watched as the screen began playing again.

* * *

Seven year old Harry found himself in his cupboard under the stairs, which also happens to be his bedroom. The last few weeks have been horrible for Harry, his aunt and uncle had punished him multiple times for things that weren't even his fault. Like the time his hair grew back after his aunt had nearly cut it all off, that time the horrible jumper shrunk so he couldn't put it on or that time he ended up on the school roof. His Uncle Vernon didn't believe him when he said it wasn't his fault, two beatings later he found himself back in his cupboard with a broken arm and a black eye. He wondered if they ever noticed how much they hurt him, probably not seeing as they always expect him to do chores the very next day while his non-freak of a cousin got to do whatever he wanted.

Harry's aunt and uncle always called Dudley perfect and handsome, personally Harry thought that they just didn't know what the words mean. Harry wasn't particularly worried about his broken arm, he always heals on his own. For some reason that makes his relatives even more angry but it's not like he can tell his body to not fix itself. Harry had managed to make friends with the spiders in the cupboard, they listen to him and do what he asks them to do. For a long time they were his only friends, until the day he got his letter, today, Harry awoke from a nap when he found two things, a healed arm and a letter on his lap.

* * *

 **Hello Harry**

 **You don't know who I am, but I know you. I'm a relative of yours and I found out you aren't being treated right by your aunt and uncle. I understand if you don't trust me, you probably think this is a joke from the Dursley's. It's not because we both know your aunt and uncle wouldn't waste their time on you and that pig of a cousin of yours couldn't spell to save his life.**

 **As an added reason for you to believe me I'd like to let you know my opinion of your relatives. Your uncle is a cheap, ungrateful, horrible fat whale of a man and his very existence makes me want to puke. Your aunt is a horrible, jealous, loud woman who looks like a giraffe and the fact she's not treating you right leads me to believe that she is even less intelligent than she makes you feel. I'm not going to bother insulting your cousin because he probably won't understand half of what I'm saying.**

 **Now listen to me Harry, you are a wizard, just like your dad and your mom was a witch. That's why your relatives hate you; they think that they can get rid of your magic. Little do they know that they've actually made it stronger because you have to keep using it to heal yourself, I want to teach you about magic along with my sons Godric and Salazar and my two daughter-in-laws Helga and Rowena. We'll teach you all about the wizarding world and as much as we can about magic. We can also tell you about your parents, I should let you know that despite what your relatives tell you, they were killed by a dark wizard named Voldermort. I should also let you know that once you reach the wizarding world, you may meet a man named Albus Dumbledore. Everyone thinks he's a great wizard, he is but what most people don't know is he has a dark side. Everyone thinks he's the nicest thing since sliced bread, but I need to warn you to be careful. He's the one who put you with the Dursley's, he's the one who put blocks on your magic so your weaker and he has plans for you. I'll tell you more if you accept, if you do just say the words 'heir to magic'. Don't worry if you do, time's different where we are and it'll just be like a second for you when you get back. Now ignore the next line, it's not for you.**

 **If you four are watching then you won't be able to see what happens if he accepts.**

 **Goodbye Harry, I hope to see you soon.**

 **Merlin**

* * *

Harry had never been more shocked in his life, he knew the Dursley's definitely didn't write this and nobody else knows that he lives in a cupboard, not even Dudley's friends. He spent about half an hour deciding if he was going to accept. He weighed up the pros and cons of it. If it wasn't real then nothing is going to happen, if it was real then a whole new possibility of things could happen for him. Maybe he'd no longer be a freak, maybe he'd finally have a friend or someone who cares for him.

"Heir to magic" Harry whispered. A flash of light later and Harry was gone. He appeared second later and instead of wearing his cousin's rags he was wearing clothes of his own. He had black combat boots and trousers, a black shirt that seemed to be made perfectly for him and a black hooded cloak just like the ones from Hogwarts but this one had no symbols or colors. He removed the hood and his clothes instantly converted back to his cousin's hand-me-downs. A confident smile and happy smile was etched on his face and he did his best not to laugh. He checked his occlumency barriers were up and opened the door with a wave of his hand.

He was glad he didn't have to rely on a wand, he didn't need one. Merlin advised getting one when he was eleven, and he would but until then, he was perfectly content on using wand-less magic. He leaned out of the door and remembered that his relatives were gone. Harry took the opportunity to apparate away, he decided to visit Diagon alley and check out the wizarding world. Before he got there he placed a few glamour charms on, he was now a blonde, scar less, blue eyed boy. Diagon Alley was exactly like Merlin described, tons of wizards and witches running around and no one place was the same. Harrys first stop was the goblin bank Gringotts, upon entering he noticed the goblins looking at him with disgust, the were probably expecting him to be a jerk or too poor to be of importance.

"Hello" Harry bowed to one of the Goblins at the tills "my name is Harry Potter sir and I'd like to talk to the Goblin in charge of the Potter vault, I was hoping you could call him or at least point me in his direction." Harry hid a smirk at the Goblins totally stunned look, it was obvious he hadn't been expecting Harry or the respect he brought with him".

"Very well" The Goblin managed to compose himself "let me lead you to somewhere you can talk to him".

The goblin lead Harry to a conference room, where he sat until he was joined by the Goblin 'Griphook' and the meeting went exactly as Harry had planned. First he impressed him with his politeness and respectful attitude before confirming he was Harry Potter through a blood test, he then feigned shock at finding out he had more than one vault at all, and told Griphook how he only found out about that one through a letter from his mother.

"Your magical guardian should have told you about the Potter vault, I didn't expect him to know about the others but you should at least know about the Potter one. I mean, he's been taking money from it for seven years so he could pay for your living expenses."

"He what?!" Harry's shock was genuine this time "that's bull! Pardon my rudeness but I don't even know who my magical guardian is, I've lived with muggles my whole life and they'd never spend money on me if they could help it. Only on themselves or my precious cousin, they beat and starve me and make me live in a cupboard for merlin's sake!"

"They what?!" Griphook mirrored Harry's previous reaction except with a bit more rage "how dare they?! Even goblins treat children with love and respect! Your muggle family, they're known as the Dursley's right? Well it appears that they have been given a large sum of money from your account every month, the equivalent of £500 a month. This money was given because they were supposed to look after you, but they clearly haven't."

"Could you stop them from receiving this money?"

"Even better" Griphook smiled "we can force them to repay it all"

"Yes!" Harry nearly jumped with joy "please do that, the look on their faces would be priceless. But while I have your attention, who is my magical guardian?"

"Albus Dumbledore is not your legal magical guardian, but he did claim guardianship of your in Gringotts eyes. Your true guardian had become, shall we say 'unavailable' and Dumbledore claimed the role from a Gringotts point of view. In case this is unclear, he's not your guardian but the bank thought of him as such your parents will was sealed. No doubt by him. However if you wish, we can remove him from the role and force him to return any money he took from your account. But I should let you know that if we do so then it returns to your actual magical guardian, Sirius black"

Harry agreed and talked with Griphook about Sirius, finding out he had a godfather who apparently betrayed his parents but was never given a trial was quite interesting. Harry soon after took some money from his trust vault, and visited his family vault. He found a letter from his parents, telling him how they loved him, the prophecy and how he should be careful with Dumbledore. Things he already knew, but it also told him about how Sirius Black wasn't the secret keeper and Dumbledore knew about it. Merlin told him how he didn't know everything but he was hoping this was one of the things he did.

He thanked Griphook, leaving him a bag of galleons from his own vault as a thank you and reason to keep quiet about him coming here. He had exchanged some galleons into pounds so he could go shopping for muggle clothes before spending galleons at a nice ice cream shop he found and buying a seven compartment trunk where each compartment was the size of a room. He made sure it had a library, bedroom, toilet/bathroom, kitchen, potions room, dueling chamber and a swimming pool. He also paid extra to make sure only he could open it. He spent the rest of his time wandering around, and he was enjoying himself when suddenly he was tackled by a red blur.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Ginny Weasley

Harry had just recovered from being knocked down, Merlin had taught him a spell that would let him know if anyone with 'ill intent' was trying to attack him. So clearly he was in no danger, although the fact that he was tackled did give him reason to be cautious. He opened his eyes and found a small red headed girl had landed on him. She slowly got off and they both stood up, the red headed girl looked to be on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry" It was obvious she was doing her best not to cry

"Don't worry I'm not hurt and it was an accident, are you alright though? You look upset, anything I can do to help?" The next thing Harry knew the red head had engulfed him in a bone breaking hug, but she quickly let go when she saw Harry looked uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry" she apologised immediately "I shouldn't…"

"Don't worry about it" Harry cut her off "in fact, I'm sorry, it's just I've never been hugged before so it felt weird."

"You've never been hugged before?" The girl looked interested, it looked like she had stopped crying so Harry decided to continue

"Yeah my relatives aren't wizards or witches, in fact they hate magic. So whenever I did magic, and it was always accidental because I never figured out I was a wizard until recently, then they'd hit me or throw me under my cupboard for a while."

"They make you live in a cupboard and they hit you?" The girl looked absolutely appalled by what he had described "and they've never been nice to you?" Harry shook his head; the girl wrapped him in a hug once more. She felt so sad looking at his clothes that were too big for him and his taped glasses. This time however, Harry didn't feel weird. Maybe it was the fact that this girl wasn't much of a threat or the fact that she seemed to actually care about him, either away he slowly returned the hug. It actually appeared to be quite nice, and he was disappointed when it ended.

"See it wasn't that bad" Ginny chuckled

"You right it wasn't?" Harry tried in vain to hide the smile that was forming on his face, he slowly wiped the tears from her face "so are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"Don't worry about it, it's stupid" She insisted

"Hey, you can tell me, I promise I won't laugh or whatever"

"Fine" She looked as if she was building her courage so Harry stayed quiet until she was ready to talk "you know the story about Harry Potter and how he defeated you-know-who?" Harry nodded and was wondering where this was going "well my brothers know I really like that story, my mum and dad keep telling it to me. I told mum that he was probably lonely and needed a friend, my brother Ron then said he'd never be friends with me because I'm an annoying, ugly cry-baby. He said he only hangs around me because I'm his sister, he said Harry Potter would probably tell me to get lost. So I got upset and I ran off, I think he was right. I am just an ugly, annoying cry-baby."

"That's not true!" Harry felt quite upset, this 'Ron' sounded a lot like Dudley "listen my relatives insult me all the time. They call me stupid and a freak, I only looked stupid because if I acted smarter than them I'd get punished and I found out I'm not a freak, I'm actually a wizard. You're not annoying and you're definitely not ugly, you might cry a bit but you'll won't as much once you get older."

"But I don't even have any friends, there's one girl who hangs out I know but we're not friends. If I can't even make friends with her than how can I expect Harry Potter to be my friend"

"I can't believe I'm doing this" Harry muttered before grabbing the girls hand and leading her to a quiet spot where no one could see them, he really didn't know why he was doing what he was going to do but he felt like he had to do it. Something about this girl was weird, Harry didn't know what it was but it made him want to protect her. Once he was sure nobody could see them he turned to her, she looked worried. Upon thinking about it, he couldn't really blame her, he did just drag her away.

"Look" He spoke softly and quietly "I've got a secret that should make you but I'll only tell you it if you promise not to tell anyone, not even your family. Okay?" She seemed unsure but she nodded anyway. "Okay, I'm wearing a disguise and I'm going to remove it now" Harry sighed, he suddenly felt tired. He removed his glamour's with a wave of his hand, the first thing she was surprised by was the change from his blonde hair to black, she rather liked his messy black hair but then she noticed a particularly interesting scar on his forehead.

Before she could say anything, Harry had placed a hand over her mouth, which she had to admit was a good thing as she nearly screamed. Surprisingly it wasn't the scar, that attracted her attention, after the initial shock she found herself infatuated with his green eyes. She found herself lost in those emerald eyes, once she got past the fact that she had never saw someone with green eyes she then found herself analysing those very eyes. They told her so much about him, she couldn't explain it but he seemed powerful and in pain but he also seemed kind and nice. They also reminded her of fresh pickled toads.

"You going to scream again?" Harry slowly removed his hand, and noticed she was blushing as hard as possible

"You…You're H….Harry Potter?" She managed to get out

"Well that's what I'm told" He joked before putting his glamour's back on, he noticed a slight look of disappointment when he did "so, do you still want to be my friend?"

"You…want to be…friends with….me?" Ginny expected to wake up some time soon

"Yeah it'd be nice to have a friend, I've never had one before and you seem interesting, where's your family anyway?"

"I don't know, I lost them" She answered, feeling a little bit embarrassed

"Well you can walk around with me for a bit if you want? Maybe you'll find them if we walk around for a bit"

"O…okay" she nodded, next thing she knew Harry had grabbed her head and the two walked all over Diagon Alley. Ginny was surprised by how nicely her hand fit into Harry's, Harry was nothing like what she expected him to be. He was skinny and seemed to have been through a lot more than she has but he still seemed so nice and kind. She was glad to have gotten the chance to know the real Harry, whilst Harry was just glad to have gotten to know someone who was willing to spend time with him.

Normally he'd never dream of talking to or even touching anyone else, but something about Ginny had made him no longer have those concerns. Maybe it was her innocence or kindness, but she seemed like someone he could trust. Harry and Ginny spent the time looking around, Harry had brought himself some potions that Merlin advised getting so he could repair his body. Merlin taught him about magic and combat and helped him learn a lot of things, however the only thing that changed about his actual body was his magical strength and the special cloak he had brought back with him. That actually reminded Harry to remove his magical blocks and the piece of Voldermort in his scar when he gets home, Merlin had taught him a few ritual to accomplish those tasks.

He and Ginny decided to walk into one of the pet shops to look around, when a black scaled, green eyed snake caught his eye. If the ritual went right then Harry should still be able to keep his parsle-tongue ability, after buying the snake and assuring Ginny that neither of them were evil they walked out. Harry instructed the snake, who he had named Emerald, to hide in his trunk until he gets home.

Once Harry closed his trunk he was suddenly very glad to have not been holding Ginny's hand at that particular moment, because it'd be awkward explaining that to the group of red-heads approaching. From what Ginny had told them about their family during their conversations, Harry worked out who was who. The rock-star looking one with the pony tail must be her favourite brother Bill, the slightly smaller one was probably Charlie, Harry assumed that the one with the glasses was Percy, the twins were obviously the twins, Ginny said the slightly taller one was Fred while the other was George. The smallest and scruffiest looking was probably Ron, though he was taller than Harry and the short, plump angry looking woman was probably her mother. They all looked relieved apart from Percy and Ron who looked embarrassed and annoyed whilst the mother looked furious.

"There you are" Bill wrapped her in a hug "for the love of merlin please don't run off again" Harry was surprised by how he didn't seem remotely angry, it seems Ginny's descriptions of her family were accurate.

"Ginerva Molly Weasley! What do you think you were doing running off like that?!" Her mother roared

"Ron had upset me and I ran, I didn't know I'd run so far away." The brothers (except Percy) all glared at Ron, who didn't seem to notice as he was too busy glaring at Harry who was pretending not to notice.

"You still shouldn't have done that" Her mother responded "no stories for a month" Before her brothers could say anything Ginny responded

"Okay mummy" Ginny bowed her head, the brothers seemed utterly shocked, Ginny loved those stories yet didn't argue or cry when they were taken away. Molly however looked disappointed at the lack of reaction, this annoyed Harry but he chose not to make a scene. At least, not yet, maybe later.

"Who are you?" Ron asked rudely, Harry composed himself and resisted the urge to throw Ron against a wall. He put on a fake smile, nothing too happy but good enough to show he had no dislike against him or anyone here.

"I'm Harold Smith" It was a common muggle name but it'd do

"I'm so sorry my daughter has troubled you" Molly spoke before Ron could respond

"Trouble me?" Harry nearly laughed at the very idea "no she hasn't troubled me, I walked into her when I wasn't looking and she told me she was looking for her family. I told her she could keep me company while I walk and hopefully we'd find her family, we've just been talking while I was shopping and I rather enjoyed her company." Harry didn't have to look to know Ginny was blushing, Bill seemed to have noticed it but chose not to say anything.

"Thanks for that mate" Charlie spoke up as Molly and Ron didn't know what to say

"It was really no problem and like I said I enjoyed it, now if you'll excuse me I have to go. See ya Ginny"

"Bye Har..Harold" Ginny spoke quietly before Harry walked off, Harry walked off leaving Ginny and her family alone. For some reason he didn't feel happy about doing this, he'd check on her later just in case. His next stop was Knockturn alley, where he brought himself a house elf named Stink. He seemed inhumanely excited, even more so when Harry told him who he really was. Harry, after explaining he was not freeing him, ordered him to buy himself something nice to were then wait for him to call him. Harry decided to buy himself some muggle clothes in London before he returned to Privet Drive. He opened the door and walked in when his uncle called him in to the kitchen. His relatives looked at him, shocked by what they saw. He had a trunk nice clothes and his glasses were gone.

"Where did you go?!" Vernon shouted "no one's cooked out bloody dinner yet! Where are your glasses? If You've lost them than don't expect me to buy a new pair, and what's all this? You're stealing now, you ungrateful freak! You're lucky I don't call the police!" What the Dursley's didn't expect next was for Harry to start laughing, he wiped away a tear of joy before he looked at them.

"First of all Aunt Petunia could have cooked, she was the one who taught me to cook but then again that's probably why you think I'm rubbish at it" The Dursley's jaws collectively dropped at the same time, never before had the freak dared insult them or even back chat

"Second of all" Harry continued "I didn't steal any of this, in fact I brought it with money"

"Money?!" Vernon roared

"Yes money" Harry continued, unaffected by his uncles outburst "you see money is this thing that you give shopkeepers if you want their stuff, I'd have thought that after all these years you'd have grasped the concept of money but clearly not. Maybe that's why they haven't promoted you yet"

"Don't you dare disrespect us like that you ungrateful freak!" Petunia took over as her husband was still in shock "you don't have money!"

"Not muggle money" Petunia froze as Dudley asked what muggle meant, Harry continued "you see I went to the wizards bank and it turns out that mum and dad left quite a lot of money. Wizard money but to give you a clue as to how much, I could convert it to pounds and be able to buy every house on the street and still have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of my life without working"

"You're lying!" Dudley roared

"Am i?" Harry seemed more amused than other "I got these clothes after converting some of my money and then I went to a muggle shop and brought the clothes you see before you. I brought a potion that fixed my eyesight so I don't need glasses anymore, this trunk in fact is basically a house. In it is a bathroom, swimming pool, library and bedroom" Vernon who had cringed at the mention of potions and wizards sprung to life

"Quiet! Stop mentioning your freak nonsense and give me that trunk" Vernon stood up whilst Harry slowly backed away

"Go ahead, but I should warn you that I'm the only one who can open it, You can touch it but try and open it and the defences activate" Harry crossed his arms and waited for the fireworks to begin. Vernon, naturally ignored Harry's warning and tried to open the trunk. That's when he had landed on the kitchen table and it had collapsed under he's weight, Petunia shrieked while Dudley was too terrified to say a word.

"That was priceless" Harry chuckled

"What did you do?" Petunia screamed as she helped Vernon to his feet

"Told you, the defences activated" Harry replied as soon as he had gotten his enjoyment under control "that was the first defence, the least harmful of them, let's just say if he trips any more than a visit to the hospital might be in order." A knocking sound was heard behind Harry, it turns out an owl was trying to get in. Harry clicked his fingers and the glass disappeared, letting the owl come in and frightening the Dursley's even more. Harry took the letter than handed the owl a sickle, after telling the surprised owl to keep the change it flew away and Harry read the letter before walking to the living room and collapsing on the sofa with laughter.

"What is it?" Dudley asked as he hid behind his mother, Harry laughing had really frightened him for reasons that he couldn't even understand

"I just got a letter from the wizard's bank" Harry explained "they've looked over my funds and have told me that most of my properties are still sellable and those that aren't are undergoing repairs.

"Properties?!" Petunia and Vernon roared

"This would be quicker if you don't interrupt" Harry sighed "now listen up because I'm only going to say this once. I've inherited everything my parents have left for me, that includes all the properties, shares and companies they own. First thing tomorrow I'm going to move into one of them and you'll never see me again. I also think you'll be interested to know that one of the companies' I own happens to be this drilling company, I think it's called Grunnings or something. Wait a sec, wait a sec, you work there don't you Uncle Vernon?" Harry smile turned from one to joy to one that looked absolutely feral.

"So all this time when you were complaining about spending money on me, you were spending my money? Interesting isn't it? Oh and I should let you know that the £500 you get every month is also from my account, well from my smallest account and I've made it so you no longer are taking money from that account. You'll also get sent a letter telling you to repay that money, if you don't want to then I should let you know that goblins run the wizards bank and cross them at your own peril. They can be vicious when they want and they're not as forgiving as me, if you don't pay them back then they'll probably take the house. So cross them and me at your own cost"

* * *

The Dursley's being the Dursley's didn't listen, which is why they found themselves silenced by a silencing charm and stuck to the ceiling whilst Harry watched TV, lying on the Dursley's favourite couch. Harry called for stink, partly because he had things for him to do but mostly to scare the Dursley's. He instructed him to place three bucket's under the Dursley's in case they needed to pee then gave him order's to clean the rest of the house. Harry was amused by the fact that 'Stink' appeared to enjoy the work and was perfectly content with his own name and simply buying a cleaner pair pillow case and some shoes. The next day Harry had had his fun, the Dursley's were still attached to the ceiling, and Harry was ready to go. Not before one last thing however.

The Dursley's stared with fright and confusion at what was below them, Harry had brought a miniature pool and placed it directly below them, unfortunately it wasn't filled with water. It appears that the elf had had been instructed to put every bit of dust and dirt he could find in the house in it, what frightened them more was when the elf took the opportunity to relieve himself in the pool. Harry with a smile looked towards the Dursley's before parting.

"Dudley" He spoke as politely as he could "it was horrible knowing you and sorry but you'll probably have to start cleaning and working a bit now. Don't worry it's not hard, I've been doing it my whole life. Aunt Petunia, I would hope that one day you'd get over whatever reason you have to hate my mother but I'm not going to bother.

Magic is one thing but miracles are another, and as for you Uncle Vernon. I hope you realise that if you were nicer to me than I would have let you keep the money, and probably help get you promoted. But all those beatings you gave actually made my magic stronger and is what led me to discover the world of wizards and witches in the first place. Now remember you have to have to pay back all the money you took from me and don't expect to come to work, I told the companies highest employees that I'm firing you and they agreed to do it, now before I leave I just need to say seven things.

Dudley you're adopted, Uncle Vernon cheated on you Aunt Petunia, Aunt Petunia cheated on you Uncle Vernon, nobody in this neighbourhood likes any of you, the sticking charm will wear off by midnight tonight and the goblins will collect the money the next day. The final thing is I'm richer and more well of than all of you could ever be. Now goodbye, Stink, take me to Gringotts, I think it's time I get a new home" Stink did as he was told and Harry appeared just outside of Gringotts, he and Harry felt on top of the world.

Albus Dumbledore however did not, it has come to his attention that the words on Private Drive had fallen.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Careful who you insult

Harry knew that in Gringotts he'd find his portkey to Potter mansion in the family vault, it'd be the perfect place to stay. Only Potter's and those who they allow to stay there can find it even if they've been there before and it has more defensive wards then Hogwarts. He was very impressed by what he saw, a mansion so big you could barely see the top. The outside was good as well, grass that was as green as can be, a beautiful forest and all sorts or rare plants. The inside felt bigger than the outside and Harry couldn't help feel impressed. There were more rooms than could count and outside there was even a quidditch pitch.

Harry also found four house elves there, Harry told them to go to knock turn alley and buy as many house elves as possible. He would need help cleaning all of this, one house elf remained to show him around. He showed him all of the house before taking him to the animal pens outside. In some pens were normal animals like horses and cats, in others there were wilder animals like tigers and lions and in the last few there were magical animals like dragons and thestrals. Harry also found a bright red phoenix which seemed quite taken with him, a short bonding process later and he was now Harry's phoenix. He then directed Harry to the instruction booklet which told him how to interact with all the animals. After a while even the dragons allowed him to pet them.

Harry promised to return later and left, he found an open area and took the time to do the rituals needed to remove his magical blocks and Voldermorts soul. But before he did that he called Stink over and tell him to owl Ginny a letter he wrote which asked her how she was doing. He had carefully labelled it from 'Harold Smith' so as to not draw attention. The owl had been instructed to make sure she was alone when she received it. He also had sent a letter to Sirius Black to question him about his parents. Harry begun the rituals, they worked well enough but resulted in Harry having to spend the entire day in bed.

Harry woke next day to the most beautiful breakfast ever, the house elves had prepared nearly every tasty food imaginable and were utterly surprised when Harry insisted they eat with him. At first they refused but that stopped upon Harry's insistence of 'family eating together'.

"Stink" Harry called "has Ginny replied to my letter?" The little elf looked as if he wanted to twist his ears off "what's wrong Stink?"

"Harry's Ginny did read the letter, but then her mother found the letter. Stink was watching to make sure she didn't see the owl, later she found the letter in Miss Ginny's room. She ripped the letter and shouted at her, before smacking her sir"

All the elves backed away when they felt the mere power Harry was exerting, he looked as if he would destroy the world and his power convinced them that he could, they felt very fortunate that their master was so kind. If he wasn't than they'd likely not have survived the first week.

"I see" Harry eventually calmed down after seeing he was scaring the elves "I apologise for that guys, remember the rules I won't hurt you and you won't hurt yourselves. Sorry again" The elves were utterly flabbergasted by the fact that their powerful master would be willing to apologise to lowly creatures such as themselves, all it did was cement their love for their master even more.

"Stink, take me to her home" Stink did as he was told and Harry was dropped just on the edge of the burrow, he magically enhanced his ears and eyes and found most of the family were in the kitchen or doing chores. Ginny however was in her room, from the sound of it she was crying. He slowly walked up to the burrow, making sure he wasn't seen. He climbed up the walls like Spiderman and slowly made his way to the window, he found Ginny sitting on her bed with her knees to her chest. After a few silencing charms Harry climbed in.

"Are you okay Gin?" Harry asked softly, Ginny looked up and saw a familiar pair of green eyes staring attentively at her.

"Harry?!" She screamed before jumping and giving him a hug, she was overjoyed about the fact that he was here, Harry on the other hand was appreciative for the silencing charms. "What are you doing here?"

"Just sit down and I'll explain" Harry and her sat on the bed and he did as he said he would "I've put some silencing charms up so we can talk freely and I've put an alarm charm on so we'll know if someone's coming. Now the first thing I have to tell you is a bit of good news involving my relatives" He gave Ginny a rundown of what happened with the Dursley's, twenty minutes of laughter later the conversation returned to why Harry was here.

"Ginny" Harry said as he's laughter slowly died down "I had sent you a letter, my house elf saw the letter was delivered but then he told me what your mum did" Ginny's happiness was in free fall, she suddenly looked down embarrassed and miserable.

"I don't want to talk about it" She mumbled

"Hey Ginny, as someone whose relatives have literally broken my bones and told me to cook the next day, I just want to say I understand if you don't want to talk about it. I never do, you're the only one I've ever told about them. If you don't want to talk, I understand but I'm here for you either way."

"Thanks Harry" Ginny sniffled before forcing herself to look at him "Charlie's alright, Bills still my favourite, he taught me a nice hex the other day. The twins have been nice, sometimes they let me help with their pranks but now they've given me space. Percy is still treating me like a little girl, Ron think's I'm an annoyance and Dad doesn't know what' going on because mum forces me not to tell. Not like he can do much, I think he's a bit afraid of her to be honest. Mum said I shouldn't be talking to any boys, I overheard her talking to Percy about…us."

"What's wrong?" Harry noticed her sudden blush

"Apparently…there was a marriage contract that my mum made with your parents" Ginny was now blushing so much that Harry was beginning to wonder if her cheeks were actually burning. "She said something along the lines of 'be thankful Dumbledore was able to 'make' the Potters agree to this"

"Oh I get it" Harry spoke trying to hide his disdain and hatred "once I get into Gryffindor and become Dumbledore's little 'golden boy' then they'll make me like you before selling you off to me so they can take my money. Well I'm not letting it go down their way."

"What are you going to do?" Ginny asked, her disappointment was not missed by Harry

"Well I'm going to do things differently, I already like you and if we get married, it'll be my way. I bet that in the contract they've forgotten to add a part where they can claim my money. They'll try to make it so I'll fall in love with you and then they'll expect me to insist on giving them money."

"You…you mean you'd actually marry me?" Ginny was very convinced that she was dreaming

"Course I would, well as long as you're willing to do the same"

"Definitely!""

"Think about it Gin, you may have to go against you're family"

"Harry" Ginny crossed her arms "the only member's I care about will support me no matter what and as for the rest, you're more family than them. You can't get me to change my mind so don't bother trying" Harry couldn't help but feel amused by her stubbornness

"Wait I have an idea" Harry waved his hands around a few times before looking at Ginny with a look that told her he was quite proud "I just cast a few things on you, the first is an accelerated healing spell. The second was, in simple terms, an anti-hurt Ginny charm. If someone wants to hurt you then they'll automatically think of something else and forget about you"

"That's so cool" Ginny exclaimed

"Thanks" Harry blushed a little "now I'll have to redo them at least once a month, I figure that I come around every now and then whenever you're free and you and me can talk and practise. I can get you some untraceable wands and I can teach you a few things."

"Really?!" Ginny was bouncing with excitement

"Of course" Harry nodded "but first, let's play a prank on your brother" Harry led her to the open window, they found Ron outside sorting through some cards, then they saw his mum a little while away. Harry summoned her wand, then asked Ginny for the hex her brother had taught her. He had her fire it at him before, Harry threw the wand, Harry threw the wand so it landed right next to Ron.

"Now I have to go, have fun" Harry gave Ginny a quick peck on the cheek before Stink came and took him away. Ginny was dazed, not dazed enough to miss what was happening but dazed. She looked outside where she saw her mother cancelling the spell and driving away the bat bogey's from Ron's face, then shouting at him for messing with her wand. All the while, Bill was sneaking glances at Ginny's window with an amused expression each time. The twins and Charlie also seemed to grasp what had happened.

* * *

The next few years flew by faster than Harry could have anticipated, Harry with the help of potions and the house elves food was now growing at a perfectly healthy rate. He kept himself thin by running, he exercised a bit but not much as he was still quite young. He practised spells, potions, animagus transformations, read books, spent time with the animals and even learnt different types of dance. That part was so he could keep fit and impress Ginny, mostly the second half. And when he wasn't writing or sending potions to Sirius using his Phoenix which he named Flame, he was having the house elves drop him off into Ginny's room whenever possible.

Ginny was also quite impressed, Harry had taught her so much and felt like she could at the very least beat Ron in a fight, magical or otherwise. She was also impressed by Harry, he was lean but muscular and kept getting stronger every meeting. She knew he was holding back with her and she couldn't blame him, he was just too strong. Eventually they told Bill, Charlie and the twins. They seemed okay with it, they didn't bother giving Harry the 'don't hurt my sister talk'. Probably because they knew they couldn't do anything any way.

Harry visited nearly every day and only didn't when he absolutely couldn't. Soon came the day of the Hogwarts letter's, Harry's house elves intercepted his letter before it got to the house and they checked it for tracking charms. After removing them, they brought the letter back, Harry read the list and went to Diagon alley. He instructed the elves to get his stuff while he went to the wand shop and got his wand, the owner saw right through his glamour's and had him try about fifty wands before settling on one. He then told Harry about you-know-who having the wands brother, Harry left and went to Gringotts and visited the founder's vaults like Merlin told him to do so on his eleventh birthday. From Rowena's he found four wand holsters that turned invisible and couldn't be charmed. Once they were worn then only that person who put them on could remove them or remove a wand from them. He put two of them on and decided to leave two for Ginny.

In Slytherin's vault he found two knives and leg holsters, he put the knives in the holsters and wrapped them around his thighs. They also became invisible and were unable to be detected magically or otherwise, Hufflepuffs vault left him with some very rare potions which he had the elves put take to his home. Gryffindor's had two wands, apparently they belonged to Merlin and his wife. Harry took the wands and placed Merlin's in his holster, he put it in his spare holster. And kept the other one for Ginny, he'd give it to her when he saw her at the train. He and Ginny were both thrilled when they found out she'd be starting Hogwarts a year early, apparently she had gotten so strong that it was recommended she go. Harry still insists he had nothing to do with that and in no way made it so she'd go to Hogwarts early.

The day arrived when Harry arrived at the station, he had put his trunk on his trolley along with his owl cage which held his new snowy white owl Hedwig. He liked Hedwig, she had gotten along with all of his friends elf or otherwise. He had gotten there a bit too early however and decided he'd kill the time until Ginny got there and make sure she noticed when he did. He took out a radio which he had charmed to work in magical areas and it started playing music. Harry took this opportunity to bust out his dancing skills and earn some money which he could later convert to wizard money, Harry donned a hat that he had seen Michael Jackson wear and then performed a fitting tribute.

He was attracting quite a crowd, many people were leaving money on the napkin he had left on the ground. He was having fun, especially when a few familiar red heads walked up to the platform. Ginny and the twins rushed over to see what the commotion was about, while Molly was shouting something about muggles, obviously trying to get a particular persons attention. Harry ignored her and kept dancing.

Ginny was stunned, she knew Harry could dance but right now he was putting professionals to shame. Fred and George seemed to be trying not to laugh at Ginny's open jaw. Once Harry had finished he took his earned money and placed it in his hat before seeing if anyone else wanted to give him some money. He got quite a lot, even a five pound note, once the crowd had dispersed he turned to Ginny and extended his hat.

"Harry I don't have any money" Ginny apologised.

"I'll accept kisses too" Harry leaned his cheek towards Ginny, although initially embarrassed by Harry and her brothers, she did kiss him on the cheek. Harry put his money into a bag which he put into his trunk, he then placed the hat on his head. The hat along with his hair should cover his scar, he and Ginny sneaked past her mother with the help of the twins, and found themselves a compartment. Harry put his hat in his trunk and sat down with Ginny opposite him.

"So" Ginny smiled "what was up with the dancing?"

"I was bored because I got here early and I figured there was nothing wrong with earning some money while I was here. Being honest I had to resist the urge to come in disguise, I even spent the last few days trying to hide my power so no one realises how strong I am. I've barley managed to reduce it to above average but it'll do for now. I expect to be the best in all practical classes at least, I was going to pretend to be bad but that's just too much work."

"By the way Harry, did you have anything to do with me getting into Hogwarts a year early and don't give me some rubbish like you just trained me"

"Fine I did" Harry sighed "all I did was have my Flame, my Phoenix, flame me to the Hogwarts. As the heir to the founders and essentially Hogwarts itself, I can do certain things. Which include apparate without worry, and before you say something, I didn't do it just because you're my friend. I did it because you wanted it and I know you can handle it. Despite what some say, you are smart and strong enough to be in Hogwarts." Before Ginny could reply, a familiar red head opened the door.

"Do you mind? Everywhere else is fall" Ron asked nervously, fake nerves, Harry could see them a mile away

"You're telling me that you couldn't find a place in a train that can fit all of Hogwarts and has compartments that can fit an unlimited amount of people?" Harry raised his eyebrows, hoping this would be enough to get him to leave. Ron sadly didn't catch on to his meaning, or he purposely ignored it as he entered and sat down next to Harry.

"I'm Ron by the way, Ron Weasley" He extended a hand

"Whatever" Harry ignored it, Ron ignored it however and in his incredibly indiscreet way was staring at Harry's scar. "So Gin, what house do you think you'll be in?"

"Gin?" Ron asked before realising Ginny was in the compartment "what are you doing here?!"

"Nice job not noticing your sister was in the same compartment as you" Ginny rolled her eyes

"And she's here because I invited her into the compartment" Harry spoke next "I don't seem to remember inviting you however"

"Look mate" Ron ignored Harry's last comment "you don't want to hang out with her, she's annoying and…"

"And who I hang out with is none of your business! I think you're sister is smart and funny and I like her company, you on the other hand are rather annoying" Ginny sat with her arms crossed looking royally smug while Ron looked like he couldn't find any words to respond.

"But…she's just an ugly cry-baby!" Ron blurted out Ginny and Harry's eyes narrowed at exactly the same time. The two found themselves in the compartment by their selves when the twins entered.

"Hi guys" Fred and George greeted them as the sat down

"So Gin" Fred started

"Why did you?" George continued and the twin speak began

"Hex"

"Little Won-won"

"What did he do?"

"Make fun of Mr Potter over here?"

"I didn't do it" Gin smiled "Harry did it, Ron was annoying us both and Harry hexed him. I was going to do it but Harry beat me to it."

"He insulted you" Harry argued "I warned him, not my fault he didn't listen"

"You seem very protective"

"Of little Ginerva"

"You two know she doesn't like that" Harry tapped his wand,

"Harry was the one who helped me perfect my bat bogey curse" Ginny added. The twins seemed to have gotten the message as they beat a hasty retreat out of the carriage. They were soon approached by a blonde boy by the name of Draco Malfoy, who also had a similar fate to Ron after he insulted Ginny. Unlike Harry, Ginny had noticed the theme. She normally hated it when someone protected her, but with Harry she knew it was because he cared and not because he thought she was too weak to protect herself. Eventually the door and a bushy haired girl appeared with a nervous, round boy.

"Have either of you seen a toad?" She asked "Neville's lost one" Harry removed his wand

"Accio toad" he shouted and found a toad had flew to his hand

"Trevor!" Neville shouted as he took him from Harry's hand "thanks', Gran would kill me if I lost him. I'm going to go put him in my bag and make sure he doesn't escape again." Neville left the compartment, the girl however did not.

"How'd you do that?! That's a fourth year spell" Harry just shrugged "fine, don't tell me. I'm Hermione Granger. And you two are?"

"Ginny Weasley"

"Harry Potter"

"Harry Potter!" Hermione exclaimed "I've read all about you" She was going to go on when she saw Ginny cringe "What?!"

"Sorry, it's just Harry doesn't like those books" Ginny looked upset, in Harry's mind upsetting Ginny is social suicide.

"How could you hate those books?!" Hermione demanded

"First of all, don't take that tone with me. I'm not afraid to put a few silencing charms on you. Secondly, those books aren't accurate, I've never given an interview in all of my life and only three people besides Gringotts even had an idea of where I am. Now if you don't mind, me and my friend were talking!" Hermione huffed and walked out

"Thanks Harry but you know you don't need to defend me"

"Gin, you'd do the same thing for me and you know it, and I'm always here for you. Whether you need me or not."

* * *

After a while the train stopped and Hagrid the half giant led them on boats to the castle. Where they were told to wait, Harry knew what to expect. He and Ginny decided to stay at the back so they could Harry silently changed the name order to random but made sure his name was right after Ginny's so he knew which house to go for. After Ginny was sorted into the lions, Harry's name was called, unfortunately the people in front of didn't want to move. Although being annoying, Harry decided to use it as an opportunity to show off. He took a few steps back, then he ran and jumped. The whole hall watched in amazement as Harry had jumped over all the first years and landed just in front of the stool.

He sat on the stool and it took a while for people's shock to go, Harry and Ginny decided that the best and most hilarious thing to do is act like nothing happened. Eventually Professor McGonagall recovered from her shock and placed the hat on his head.

'Hello Mr Potter' The hat greeted him

'Hello G' Harry responded with his mind 'I must say Godric could have chosen a more creative name, personally I think he was just being lazy when he named you after the first letter of his name'

'Too true, my young friend, now let's sort you. You don't seem to care do you? Ah, but it appears you have one reason to go for a specific house, I wanted to put you in Slytherin but who am I to stand in the way of love'

"Gryffindor!" The hat bellowed, Harry removed it and walked to his table, kissing Ginny on the head as he sat down. Harry looked around, most people bar the Slytherin's seemed pleased. Most of the teachers and Hagrid seemed over joyed, Dumbledore was clapping for him more than any other student. Harry's eyes then caught another person's, he was dressed in black and had greasy black hair. Harry felt his occlumency barriers tingling; this person was trying to get in his mind. Harry would let him off lightly this time, he gently pushed him out, not before getting into his mind and finding out a bit about him. He's names was Snape and he apparently held a grudge against him because of his father.

Snape didn't seem to notice Harry, but he decided to leave just in case. Snape however wasn't done, he had decided to try Ginny's mind. Her shields were stronger than expected but he could get past them. That was until he saw Potter standing in front of a dragon whilst holding a sword, he was looking at Snape like he was a guard dog. Snape exited her mind and found Potter looking at him, Potter was slowly shaking his head but he's eyes made the message perfectly clear, 'stay out'. Snape was furious, at least until he looked into his eyes once more. Lilly's eyes, he'd recognise them anywhere. Maybe he'd hold off of judging Potter, at least until the first potions class


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- Snape

Ginny was enjoying her food when she felt a small tingle in her head, Harry told her he'd explain later so she left it at that. Looking around, she was amazed at how great her life is right now. She had always dreamed of going to Hogwarts and marrying Harry Potter when she was younger, and now thanks to a certain young man both, dreams had come true or at least one had and the other was going to come true.

She knows it wouldn't be all fun, Harry had stressed that when he asked for her decision on whether or not she wanted to stay with him. She knew he was right and that there were lots of risks, but she was going to do it anyway. Harry Potter, to her at least was worth it. The two gulped down their food and after greeting a few of the ghosts, they were taken to their dormitories. Neither slept well that night as Hermione decided to constantly bug Ginny for information about Harry as if he was one big mystery she could solve whilst Ron had decided to try and befriend Harry. Ginny and Harry decided to take the old fashioned approach of pretending to fall asleep.

* * *

The next day the two woke up early and headed to the great hall, Professor McGonagall seemed very pleased by how early the two were because it seemed like all the head of houses were awake and that was it. She gave the two of them their timetables, Harry didn't really care what lessons he had as long as he was with Ginny he didn't really care. He and Ginny soared through the classes, transfiguration was fun as Professor McGonagall gave Harry ten points for recognising her in her cat form before everyone else which he particularly enjoyed doing as everyone thought he was mad until she transformed back. Seeing Ron late was amusing and Harry took great pleasure in showing up Hermione by having himself and Ginny transform the needles on their first go which earned them twenty points each.

Hermione was furious and Harry could tell, Harry had hypothesised that she was trying to either do better than them or figure out something wrong with theirs. Unfortunately, she was too focused on that too get her own right. Neville wasn't doing too bad, after Harry whispered words of encouragement to him he had managed to do it right. When Hermione asked what he had said and Neville replied with the words 'Be confident, you can do it' she glared at all three of them. Neville looked frightened whilst Harry and Ginny looked amused.

"Miss Granger would you like to give me a reason as to why you're trying to see through Mr Potter and Mr's Weasleys head?" Hermione had turned from her glaring to find the stern professor looking at her.

"No Professor" Hermione nervously shook her head

"Well it seemed important enough for you to not focus on your work and also scare Mr Longbottom, Mr Longbottom ten points for your transformation and Mr Potter another five points for helping Mr Longbottom. Miss Granger, ten points for disturbing other students" And with that she walked off. Harry and Ginny soon found themselves in potions, Harry and Ginny sat together, unfortunately Ron and Hermione sat on each of their sides.

Professor Snape walked in, his cape billowing behind him, most found that impressive except for Harry who noticed him sliding a wand back into his sleeves. Snape walked with a no nonsense attitude that demanded respect from everyone in attendance. He looked around when he saw Mr Potter, who he had to admit was quite a fascination for him. From what little he saw of him he could see that Potter was well capable of showing off but he didn't, at least excluding that jump at the ceremony but he couldn't blame him for that as the dunderheads weren't moving out of the way. He'd do it himself if capable, all of his teachers had glowing recommendations for him and yet he doesn't seem to interact with any students for longer than he needs to. Except of course for Miss Weasley. Snape saw James Potter's face and his hair, but Lilly's eyes and an attitude that seemed to draw from both. Snape began to explain potions to them knowing that none of them would probably last five minutes.

"Alright class pop quiz, Mr Potter, tell me what will I get if I add Powdered Root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?" Miss Granger's hand shot up, Potter however looked on with a neutral face, void of any emotions."

"The Draught of Living Death sir" he answered

"Where would you look if I tell you to find me a Bezoar?"

"The stomach of a goat, research suggest mountain ones work best but any will get the job done"

"Final question Mr Potter, What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?" There was no way he could get this.

"There isn't one sir, they're the same plant and can also be known as aconite."

"Well" Snape masked his shock as he looked around the class "it appears you're not all fame after all Potter, five points to Gryffindor. Now all of you start on the boiling cure on the board" As the class continued Snape walked around, idly keeping an eye on everyone. His real interest lay with Potter, he was making the potion as if he had done it a hundred times before. It was perfect in every way possible, he was doubly surprised when he stopped Longbottom from ruining his batch. He noticed the joy on his face when working with Miss Weasley. That, and the absolute bored and pain look on his face when Mr Weasley or Miss Granger tried to converse with him. After class finished, everyone but Mr Potter had left. He approached Snape who was sitting at his desk.

"What do you want Potter? I'm busy"

"I'm not my father" Potter spoke out of the blue

"What?" Snape was confused, did this boy know about his farther. Impossible, Albus had told him he was raised by muggles, muggles who probably spoilt him and told him his father was a hero.

"I'm not my father" Harry repeated "I'm not my mother either, I'm Harry. No more no less, at the sorting ceremony you looked into my mind and I looked into yours"

"What?!" Snape yelled with surprise, how could this boy get past his defences unnoticed?

"I only did it because you were looking into my mind and I needed to assess if you were a threat or not. I admit that I shouldn't have done that and I saw more than I intended. From what I understand you think I'm a spoilt arrogant brat who got by thanks to his fame. I reckon Dumbledore helped you believe that, well, let's just say you're not the only one who can keep secrets. I spent the first seven years of my life being beaten and starved and forced to live in a cupboard by my muggle realatives. For those few years, the only friends I had were the spiders that lived with me there. After finding out about magic, I managed to run away, I spent the next few years repairing whatever damage they did to me and hiding from the public eye. Fame isn't all people think it is, because of my fame most people make an opinion of me before they get to know me, if you consider yourself as someone who was close to my mother than please act like someone worthy of her."

With that Potter left, Snape sat deep in thought. The boy that Albus had lead him to believe was a spoilt brat seemed to have a worse childhood than he had, he's intelligent, he doesn't revel in his fame and he's right. He's noticed all the people trying to get close to Potter so they can snag a bit of his fame, the last comment was especially memorable. Perhaps if Snape had acted worthy of Lilly, than maybe she shouldn't have gone with Potter, while on that subject, why was he still holding a grudge against Potter? He's dead and he did at least try to apologise before he died, perhaps a change is necessary.

* * *

The next day Harry and Ginny sat with the twins at breakfast, he was telling them about what he did to his cousins before he left the house. The twins, while being slightly scared, laughed as hard as they could. The atmosphere was contagious as Harry and Ginny laughed along, at least until Hermione and Ron joined them. When asked what they were laughing about, the four just shrugged.

"Mr Potter" Professor Snape called from behind them "after out last conversation, I forgot to give you some well-deserved house points" The hall froze in shock, Snape would never willingly give house points to a Gryffindor. Even the teachers had their jaws dropped, Flitwick was so shocked he fell out of his chair

"Twenty points to Gryffindor for your potion and twenty points for that business after class"

"I think the second one deserves at least thirty points" Harry responded, the air thickened, awaiting for Snape to explode with rage.

"Thirty points then, however five points for your cheek and don't push your luck"

"Deal" Harry and the Professor shook hands before Snape departed from the hall leaving everyone wondering what the hell was going on. Harry turned to his friends who all had their jaws dropped, except for Ginny who was beaming with pride and joy as she knew all about their conversation from yesterday.

"Snape gave you points?!" Fred blurted out, it seemed he was too shocked to do his twin speak thing. It didn't seem to matter as George seemed incapable of speaking

"I believe he did, forty-five points in total if my maths I right"

"What was that business after class?" Hermione practically shouted

"None of yours" Harry coolly replied as he and Ginny began eating

"Why can't you tell us? We're your best mates" Ron spoke between shoving massive amounts of food in his mouth

"Ginny's my best friend, followed by the twins, then Neville and everyone else is the just that as far as I'm concerned." Ginny smiled wildly and tilted her head while Harry mock petted her head

"Why Ginny?" Ron asked

"Well dear brother" Fred took over

"It's quite simple" George continued

"Ginny is smart"

"Clever"

"Surprisingly good at magic"

"Kind"

"and pretty"

"Good boys" Harry petted their heads in the same manner as he did Ginny "I knew I'd have you two trained eventually, if you too keep this I might just induct you into the Marauders"

"How do you know about them?!" The Twins asked

"My dad was Prongs and my godfather is Padfoot, how do you know about them?"

"We found" George began

"Their map" Fred concluded

"For real?!" Harry exclaimed "do…do you think I can have it? It's just… I don't have many things of my dad's" The twins patted Harry on the head before beginning their twin talk again

"Of course you can Harrikins" George spoke first

"It'd be a dishonour depriving the heir from such a gift"

"We've mesmerised nearly all of it anyway"

"However we ask that you wait until tomorrow at least so we can memorise the last bit of it"

"Just in case we need it and you can't"

"Or won't give it to us"

"Thanks guys!" Harry loved the twins, despite the twin talks and pranks, they really were the kindest soul you could find

"What map are you talking about?" Hermione asked

"I'm going to save Harry the trouble and say it's none of your business" Ginny spoke

"Harry, you shouldn't keep secrets from your friends" Hermione ignored Ginny

"My friends already know, except Neville but I'll tell him eventually"

"I meant me" Hermione spoke as if it was obvious

"You're not my friend" Harry snickered "the only reason I haven't told you to go away is because I don't know if anybody else wants you here"

"Nope" The twins and Ginny spoke in unison

"Ron does!" Hermione argued

"I don't want Ron here either" Harry argued back "guys?"

"Nope" the twins and Ginny agreed once more

"Find then, me and Ron should just leave should we?"

"Yes" All four spoke at the same time.

* * *

Shortly after breakfast Harry had received a note telling him to meet Dumbledore in his office. Shortly before going, he asked Ginny and the twins to stick together, just in case. The gargoyle to his office opened immediately upon entering he found Dumbledore sitting at his desk and a Phoenix standing on a perch. After petting the Phoenix a little he sat down.

"Hello Harry, lemon drop?" Dumbledore spoke in a grandfatherly voice

"No thank you sir, maybe next time"

"Very well Harry" Dumbledore put the sweets away before continuing "I'd just like to ask you a few questions, how are you finding Hogwarts?"

"It's not bad" Harry spoke in a disinterested voice, Dumbledore found that particularly odd. Even if he wasn't living with the Dursley's he should still be in awe of Hogwarts

"Out of curiosity, where do you live these days? When the letter was sent to you, there was no address"

"I live where I feel at home" Harry avoided the question and Dumbledore avoided his irritation showing on his face

"Very well" Dumbledore continued "how are your friends? I understand that you've made friends with Mr Weasley and Miss Granger"

"Ha" Harry suppressed a laugh "no sir they're not my friends, they wish they were but they're not"

"Now Harry my boy, you should give those two a chance"

"I did sir, but the two keep irritating me and frankly if I stay with them for too long you'd probably end up with two less students. Now unless there is anything else sir, I'll be off, by the way what is your Phoenix's name?"

"Fawkes" Dumbledore answered, hiding his disappointment of Harry remarkably well, not well enough for Harry to not have noticed however. Harry stood up and walked to the bird and extended his right hand

"Hello Fawkes" He spoke calmly and respectfully "would you like to bond with me?" Fawkes without hesitation sung a cheerful song and jumped on to Harry's arm, a golden light surrounded the two before shortly fading away

"Harry that's my Phoenix!" Dumbledore stood up

"No it's not" Harry calmly replied "you can't legally 'own' one and you never properly bonded with Fawkes from the looks of it, I think he was just putting up with you until he found someone he liked. He is mine now and I'm keeping him, to prove it, Fawkes will take me to my room. Goodbye sir" With that Harry and Fawkes flamed away, Harry found himself in the boys dormitories when he saw Hermione and Ron looking at him. He was also very interested to see that they were holding hands

"Hello lovebirds" Harry joked before winking at Fawkes, who surprisingly winked back

"Isn't that Dumbledore's Phoenix?" Hermione asked

"Was Dumbledore's" Harry corrected her before calling for Stink, Stink appeared and Harry continued "Stink, could you please take this phoenix back home I'd do it myself but I'm not allowed to leave school grounds"

"Yes sir" Stink nodded before taking Fawkes away

"Was that a house elf?!" Hermione looked absolutely appalled

"Either that or a very weird looking person" Harry joked "now I don't care what you do but just stick to Ron's bed please" Harry went down to the common room leaving two blushing faces

* * *

The screen had paused and the Marauders and Lilly were looking at each other, before bursting into tears from laughing. Once they managed to compose their selves they began conversing again

"James" Sirius was still clutching his side "thank you for making me that boy's godfather; I've never been more proud of anyone in my life. He took Dumbledore's Phoenix and got away with it!"

"I know!" James exclaimed "I wouldn't even do that! Best part is he's still a first year! And Lilly I know you love your sis and all but that was brilliant"

"She's no sister of mine" Lilly responded "not after the way she treated my boy but she got what she deserved and I am unbelievably proud. My son cooks brilliantly, treats all living creatures with kindness and respect and is top of his class, even after all my sister and Dumbledore have done to ruin him."

"Your son also has the dancing skills of a god" Remus chuckled "and an inherited attraction to redheads, I must say he seems very protective of her."

"We Potter men do anything for our women!" James exclaimed loudly with pride in his voice

"I'm sorry to ruin the mood" Remus spoke "but isn't anyone going to comment on the fact that he was trained by the founders and Merlin himself, who appears to know we're watching? Or the fact that Black's been imprisoned because of Pettigrew"

"Personally" Lilly spoke "I don 't know much about the training, I think he knows about us watching just because…well, he's Merlin. As for Black and Wormtail, we should just keep watching, no point jumping to conclusions about things we're not even sure of yet"

"She's right" James agreed, ignoring Sirius muttering 'as always' under his breath "let's keep watching"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Teachers favorite

Harry had walked down to the common room and approached Ginny and the twins; he sat with them and told them all that happened. Naturally the twins and Ginny did what they always do when Harry tells a story, fall on the floor laughing. Harry eventually helped them back on to the furniture.

"Harry! You actually took Dumbledore's Phoenix!"" Ginny wiped a tear away from her eyes

"Yep, it's not exactly a prank but consider it my Marauder introduction"

"You're what?" George asked

"My introduction into the group, each member must do at least one thing to prove their worth, you three don't need to bother as we all know about your pranks" Before anymore could be said, Ron and Hermione walked down.

"Harry" Ron spoke first "I can't believe it! You actually stole Dumbledore's Phoenix!"

"I did not" Harry responded "legally you cannot own a Phoenix so it's entirely up to the Phoenix itself as to who it stays with, I offered it the chance to bond with me and he took it. So the Phoenix willingly became mine and I broke no laws or rules"

"What about that house elf?" Hermione crossed her arms

"That was Stink, he was my very first house elf"

"You're first?!" Hermione dropped all illusions of calm "how many do you have?!"

"About fifty, what's your problem with me having house elves?"

"Are you kidding? That's slave labor!"

"Is it?" Harry calmly replied "you think I'm forcing them to work against their will or something like that? Stink, come here for a sec" The house elf appeared "Go ahead Hermione, ask him anything you like. Stink you can answer anything she asks except for personal questions like where I live and that sort"

"Fine then" Hermione turned to Stink "is Harry paying you?"

"No, Harry did offer to pay Stink and the other elves but we refused. We don't need or want money, and Harry said we can take his money if we ever want to buy anything as long as we tell him first."

"But you shouldn't work for free"

"Stink and the other elves like working miss, we don't need much of anything so we don't need money. Master Harry is most kind, he's given us a home and treats us nicer than others miss."

"But he's treating you like slaves!"

"Oh no miss" Stink looked shock at the very suggestion "Harry is nice and kind master, he forbids us from hurting ourselves and from working when we're sick. He also insists on each elf having days off, master has even helped the younger elves with their work. He is most kind, we elves love master Harry."

"But he's still forcing you to work for him"

"No. Miss must not talk bad about the master" Stink was getting quite defensive while the others seemed quite amused "master has offered each elf pay and offered each elf the chance to be free, we elves refused because we wished to work for our kind master"

"But it's still wrong!" Hermione shouted, Stink rushed towards Harry and hugged his leg he looked absolutely terrified. Hermione realized this, she tried to step closer but Stink just burrowed hid behind Harry's leg. He looked like he was about to cry, until Harry placed a hand on his head and gently spoke to him.

"It's alright Stink, it's alright. I'm here, no one is going to harm you okay"

"Thank you, master Harry" Stink sobbed into Harry's leg. The twins decided to join in and help calm the young elf

"It's alright stink" George reassured him

"We think Harry's brilliant"

"Master Harry is most kind" Stink dried his eyes "am I to assume you are his friends?"

"Yes they are" Harry spoke softly, before winking at the twins

"It's an honor to meet Harry's friends" Stink shook their hands "master Harry, Stink has work to do so Stink will leave for now"

"Okay bye stink" Harry petted him on the hand

"Bye Stink" The twins waved just before the young elf popped away.

"What's your problem?!" Ginny turned on Hermione

"My problem, he's a slave!"

"A slave is someone who's forced to work, did he look forced to you?! He's happy and Harry's treating him nicely so what's your problem?! You heard him say Harry offered to free him and pay him but he willingly refused"

"It's still not right!" Hermione shouted

"So Hermione" Fred rose to his feet

'You're saying" George did the same

"That his happiness"

"Doesn't matter"

"Because it's not the same"

"As your definition"

"Of right!" The twins yelled the last part, not many people have ever seen the twins angry, so needless to say everyone was a little bit shocked

"No but they're brainwashed!" Hermione argued

"So the obvious thing to do is tell them their entire way of life is wrong and then yell at them when they disagree" Harry retorted as he also stood up "you don't care about them, you're just upset that they don't fit into your ideal world. Grow up! The world isn't as simple as your books would have you believe" With that the four walked out of the common room, cursing under their breaths and leaving a confused Ron and a seething Hermione.

* * *

Dumbledore was not having a good day, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley were supposed to befriend Harry, they were supposed to help mold him into a servant for the light. When he questioned Harry he learnt practically nothing other than the fact that Harry knows about Phoenix's and those two haven't befriended him yet. To make matter's worse, Harry took Fawkes from him and he couldn't do anything about it, Harry broke no rules and took one of his most valuable assets. If he wasn't so important, Dumbledore would strangle him. He entered the staff meeting where the head of houses would discuss the new first years, he sat down and the meeting began.

"I think I'll start" Professor Sprout spoke first "I'm particularly happy with this new batch of first years, they all seem smart and eager to learn"

"I'm also impressed" Flitwick agreed "they all seem to hang on to my every word and they practice very hard in class, minus the odd one or two of course"

"I'd have to agree" McGonagall spoke next "they all perform right to my expectations of them, some even better" The staff all awaited Snapes reply, bracing themselves for the inevitable rant

"These first years, are not complete dunderheads" That was all that left Snapes mouth, the other teachers were quite concerned about Snapes health, he was acting nice.

"Right" Sprout decided to continue "well let's talk specific students, let's start with the worst students. For me that would be Draco, Ronald and Hermione. Draco feels herbology is beneath as it's and I quote 'servant stuff'" Even Snape rolled his eyes at this "whereas Ronald is as delicate as a bull and Hermione is excellent at theory but is too distracted to succeed in the practical portion"

"Oh yes" Flitwick nodded his head "Ronald and Draco whine whenever anything goes wrong and when Miss Granger doesn't succeed because she's not focusing, she eyes the succeeding students as if it's their fault"

"I've noticed this as well" McGonagall sighed "Weasley and Malfoy are below average at best and Miss Granger was trying to kill Potter with how much she was looking at him. I believe she's jealous about the fact that Potter and anyone he helps are doing better than her. Potter helped Longbottom and she was glaring at the poor boy after he improved thanks to Potter, he looked so frightened and he has enough confidence issues as it is"

"Draco seems to think that because of his name and house he doesn't have to put as much effort into classes" Snape was rubbing his temples "Weasley is an embarrassment, he and Granger waste too much time distracting Mr. Potter and the youngest Weasley. Weasleys older brothers at least put some effort into their classes, the twins even though I hate to admit, are brilliant at potions when they try. And I swear to Merlin, if that girl puts her hand up for a question that wasn't directed to her one more time, then she may find a very powerful sleeping potion next time she has breakfast"

"I think it'd be best if we move on to our favorite students now" Dumbledore spoke, in all honesty he was very displeased with what he was hearing. No wonder Potter didn't want to interact with them.

"My favorites are definitely Harry, Ginny and Neville" Sprout smiled "all three of them are brilliant and end up helping the others occasionally, they work without fuss and their work is always perfect"

"Oh yes" Flitwick was practically jumping with joy "Longbottom may occasionally need help but he is a brilliant student. Ginny never needs more than two tries and the occasional advice from Harry. Harry however is making the classes look easy yet he doesn't seem to be bored, I think it's more the company he keeps than the subject matter."

"I agree" McGonagall spoke with a small smile appearing on her lips "though he tries to hide it, Potter is simply too advanced for my class. I've also noticed that he always makes an effort to sit with Miss Weasley, I do worry however, if this crush of his dies down then he may stop trying in class or demand to be moved up a few years."

"It won't" Snape interrupted confidently, surprising everyone "this isn't a simple crush"

"What do you mean?" Sprout asked

"I've noticed quite a few things about Potter, he seems his happiest when conversing with her but when her brother or Granger try to engage him in conversation he looks like he's in pain. I've also noticed that he rarely let's anyone touch him, in fact it seems as if he avoids all physical interaction when possible"

"What are you saying?" McGonagall seemed quite concerned

"Though he is comfortable with the twins and Longbottom, it appears to me that Miss Weasley is the only one he trusts one hundred percent. I've seen him, if something even remotely resembles a threat to her then he gets defensive. In one particular instance, he seemed to think I was going to harm her, even if I was I wouldn't have after seeing the look on his face. He looked like a dragon defending some eggs"

"You're saying this isn't just a crush?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow

"Hardly, it's clear that Potter is powerful and is hiding his power. If any of you are under the delusion that he's not a threat then I invite you to try and harm Miss Weasley. Potters in love, and from what I've discovered about his childhood I can understand why he is protective over her"

"What do you mean?" McGonagall asked, eyeing Albus

"Potter has told me he had spent his first several years of living being beaten, starved and forced to live in a cupboard" The heads of houses gasped in shock before simultaneously eyeing Dumbledore hard enough to make him sweat "Not quite the spoilt boy you had us believe him to be, is he Albus? Potter also informed me about how he ran away once he discovered magic and spent the next few years 'repairing' the damage that they did to him and hiding from the public eye.

From what I've guessed, I can only assume that Miss Weasley is the first person he's ever loved and that's why he makes every effort to help her. He is without doubt my top student, he makes his potions effortlessly and simultaneously watches Longbottom and Weasley to make sure they get theirs right. The boy is intelligent, kind and everything his mother would have wanted him to be. I'd like to make it clear now, if anyone tries to threaten the boy or the girl be it student or staff then they shall answer to me" With that Snape stood and left the room, his cape billowing behind him. The staff didn't know how to respond, they were stuck being angry at Albus, proud of Potter and surprised by Snape.

"Well this has been fun, goodbye" Albus spoke before running out of the staff room. After some tea and biscuits, the three continued talking.

"I can't believe I'm saying this" McGonagall took a breath "but I'm with Snape, Potter is a wonderful and intelligent boy and he deserves happiness. If Miss Weasley provides it then who am I to argue?"

"I absolutely agree with you Minerva" Flitwick took a sip of tea before continuing "Potter is definitely a rare breed. Powerful yet humble, kind but protective, hardworking and relaxed. It'd be pointless to say his parents would be proud of the boy"

"The problem however is Malfoy, Ronald and Granger" Sprout placed her cup down "the three constantly try and distract him, Grangers jealousy is getting irritating and is affecting her school work."

"Trust me I know" McGonagall sighed "if I have to see her looking at Potter like he offended her one more time then I may just transform her into a ball and throw her away"

"I think we should start running defense" Flitwick suggested and the teachers began talking. They had moved Potter and his friends as far away from the others as possible during class and always kept the other three too busy to do anything.

* * *

The only interesting thing that happened that week was in the next transfiguration class. Potter, Ginny and Neville had sat down at the front and McGonagall ordered the other three to sit at the back. Before the lesson began however Granger her hand

"Yes miss Granger" McGonagall answered whilst making a mental note to ask poppy for headache potions

"Professor I want to make a complaint" She lowered her hands.

"A complaint?" McGonagall asked, at least this should be interesting "against whom?"

"Harry miss" She answered, everyone looked at her as if she had grown a third head, even Malfoy didn't know what to say "I have two complaints actually, the first is he stole the headmasters Phoenix" The class gasped, either Hermione was lying or Potter had actually stolen a Phoenix.

"Well Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked Harry who didn't seem the least bit phased by what she said

"Well miss, as I've explained to her multiple times, I did not steal him, I just bonded with him. That made him mine, apparently the headmaster never had a complete bond with him so he never technically owned him. You can't legally own one anyway, it's entirely up to him to decide who his master is and he chose me"

"Potter is correct Miss Granger" McGonagall spoke, her lips slightly curving up "if what he says is true, then he has not broken a single rule. Even if he did then it would be the headmaster's job to complain, not you. Now what's your second complaint?"

"Harry has fifty house elves miss" Hermione spook, she was sure this would get him in trouble. Everyone gasped once more, especially Malfoy, his family was rich and they only had five house elves

"Fifty?" McGonagall's face fell into shock, Hermione was sure Harry was in trouble. He however still seemed unaffected

"I have a big house" He shrugged "they help me clean, cook, look after the animals and pets, tend the garden and provide enjoyable company."

"While an outstanding number of elves, I don't see what the problem is Miss Granger"

"Are you kidding me?" Hermione couldn't believe it "it's slave labor miss!"

"And I told you" Harry interrupted "they're not slaves. I offered them pay, and the chance to be free and they refused. They seem pretty happy so I don't see what your problem is"

"They're brainwashed!" Hermione argued "of course they're going think they're happy"

"Miss Granger!" McGonagall had had enough, it was time to put this brat in her place "you shall be quiet and listen to me. House elves need masters because if they stay too long without a master than they lose their magic and their life span shortens to by two thirds. Hogwarts has house elves in the kitchens for hundreds of years and they've never complained, if you disagree with their lifestyle then fine but that does not give you the right to force your views upon others.

If your argument was against the mistreatment of elves then I would have supported you but clearly that's not it, Potters elves occasionally come and work in Hogwarts and from what I understand the elves here are jealous of the treatment that Potter gives his elves."

"Miss" Ginny raised her hand "I've seen Harry talk with his elves before; he treats them like his family. Also one time Harry called over one of his elves, he kept going on and on about how nice Harry was. Then Hermione shouted at him when he didn't agree with her"

"She what?!" McGonagall roared

"She shouted at him miss" Ginny repeated "he got so scared that he ran away from her and tried to hide behind Harry's leg"

"I see" McGonagall turned her attention back to Hermione "Miss Granger you've interrupted my class to talk about business that has no place in a classroom, you've accused Potter of two crimes without making sure he had actually broken rules, you've also tried to force your views on others and you've even gone so far as to frighten another students house elf. You also have the nerve to do this despite being a below average student. That'll be four weeks of detention and twenty points from Gryffindor, the only reason I'm not taking more is I don't wish for Potters hard work to go down the drain.

Consider yourself fortunate that you did not bring this argument to Professor Snape, he would not behave as nice as I currently am. You will sit and stay quiet and if I hear a single word from you that is not related to the class then I shall double your punishment, is that understood?"

"Yes…Miss" Hermione bowed her head, everyone could tell she was crying. Doing something however was an entirely different matter, even Ron knew to keep quiet.

* * *

After class Harry walked out with Ginny and Neville, Ron tried to follow but was slowed down by a well hidden flick of Harry's wand which caused his shoe laces to tie together. Hermione was just behind him, tears flowing from her eyes, she started walking faster. Maybe she'd push past him and he'd realize how much he upset her.

Merlin's 'ill intent' spell however told Harry about her plan, the more he buzzes the more dangerous the attack. Harry only felt a very light tingle however so he knew he didn't need to worry, and by coincidence he needed to tie his laces just as Hermione got near. He stopped and kneelt down, when Hermione tripped over him.

"What are you doing?!" Hermione screamed, Harry had quickly pretended to tie his laces before standing up

"I was doing my shoe laces, you were awfully close however, what were you planning to do?"

"I wasn't doing anything!" Hermione stood up, when the all too familiar sound of a cape billowing was heard

"What is happening here?" Snape asked

"Professor" Harry beat Hermione to it "we was walking when I stopped to tie my laces, she tripped over me and started shouting at me. I then asked her why she was so close behind me, because I find it curious that we don't like each other yet she decides to walk at a faster than average pace when she's right behind me. She was walking too fast to stop when I tied my laces, so I'm going to guess she planned to push me"

"No…No I didn't" Hermione lied, Harry knew Snape was looking her mind, as long as he wasn't doing it to him or Ginny, he couldn't care less

"Then tell me what you were planning to do?" Snape spoke with his signature 'I'll know if you lie' voice. When Hermione didn't answer Snape continued "seeing as you refuse to provide me with an answer I can only assume Potter is telling the truth, so that'll be ten points from Gryffindor and a week's detention for lying and disturbing other students"

"She already has four weeks of detention from Professor McGonagall" Ginny informed him

"Does she?" Snape looked undeniably amused "in which case you can add mine to the four you already have, I shall inform the professor you have detention with me this week. You can do the rest of her detentions with after you complete mine" Hermione ran off crying, Snape was about to leave as well when Harry beckoned him to come closer

"Sir" he whispered into his ear "I feel like you should, I looked into her mind earlier and saw that she and Ron had accidentally ended up in the third floor corridor, they saw the dog and worked out it's guarding something" Snape looked like he wanted to say something about mind reading but decided to leave it because he was many things but a hypocrite was not one of them

"Thank you for bringing that to my attention" He whispered back "anything else I should know"

"Today at the Halloween feast, don't drink the pumpkin juice" Harry whispered, Snape raised an eyebrow "nothing harmful, I assure you it's just a bit of fun and it'll wear off within an hour" Snape walked off quickly before Potter could see the smile that forced itself on his face.

* * *

At the feast Harry and Ginny sat with the twins, all four of them had decided that they would drink the pumpkin Juice just to maintain appearances. Anyone who would drink the juice would have something Halloween related change their appearance. Harry and Ginny grew fangs, Ron and Neville's ears were replaced with bat ears, Fred and George ended up with grey mad scientist hair whilst Malfoy ended up with a giant bogey that would hang from his nose no matter how much he tried to wipe it away. Dumbledore began sprouting hair everywhere that didn't already have hair, what made it worse was when his hair turned pink.

Snape had warned the head of houses about this prank, all four of them were trying their best not to laugh, Flitwick and Sprout failed. If they didn't love Potter before then they certainly did now, eventually the prank wore off and people returned to normal. Which for Ginny was a shame because she rather liked Harry with fangs, the feast continued until Professor Quirrell burst in screaming about a troll in the dungeons.

"Silence!" Dumbledore screamed to the panicking crowd "prefects will lead the students to their common room"

"Excuse me Professor" Harry stood up, the whole hall looked towards him "but isn't the Slytherin dormitory in the dungeons?" Those who weren't surprised by Harry's concern were considering how the Headmaster basically told them to go to the troll

"Ah, yes it is" The Professor sheepishly admitted

"And not to be a bother sir" Harry continued "but Miss Granger is not here; from what I've overheard she's in the toilet. Someone may want to get her in case she runs into the troll, unless of course, you want me to do it. Until you get the troll I'd recommend we all stay here, safety in numbers and all that" The teachers were hiding their amusement along with many other students, the rest were wondering how a first year seems capable of ordering the school about better than the headmaster.

"What he said" Dumbledore quickly spoke and walked out followed by the professors

'Sir' Harry spoke directly to Professor Snapes mind 'you might have noticed how captain stutter is not here anymore' Snape looked at Harry, gave him a nod and a rare smile before walking out. Harry sat back down, it took everyone a while to get over the shock of what Harry had done. Fred and George took less time, Harry dropping jaws is a daily activity he takes part in.

"You're awesome" George spoke once everyone had stopped looking

"You're who we want to be when we grow up" Fred joked

"First you get Gryffindor an unbelievable amount of points"

"Then you get Snape of all people to start liking us"

"You show people up daily"

"Take Dumbledore's Phoenix"

"Get miss goody-goody in trouble twice in a row"

"You prank the entire school and get away with it"

"and now you're ordering the headmaster about"

"What can I say? It's a gift" Harry could do many things but not look smug was not one of them

"Plus you look awesome when you take charge" Ginny added, before blushing once she realized what she said.

* * *

The next day at breakfast the event of last night were still being discussed, the teachers defeated the troll and saved Hermione. Snape barley managed to avoid getting killed by the dog, but got away with a cut leg. The rumors of what happened however were nowhere near accurate, Ron spread one saying he stopped the troll from killing Snape and Hermione. But that was quickly shot down once Neville reminded everyone that Ron was in the hall.

Harry was looking particularly forward to today as it was the day of his first quidditch match, today would be the day where he cements his title of youngest seeker in a century. After catching Neville's remembrall in his first class, McGonagall put him on the house team, she'd even brought him the new Nimbus two thousand. He told her this was unnecessary as he could have brought one with his own money but she insisted.

The team captain was overjoyed with how well Harry was doing in the practices, Fred and George were also glad he was on the team as that meant they had someone to joke with. The female chasers were nice to him as well, each treating him like a little brother, the feeling was similar to how he felt about Fred and George but slightly different. He was rather glad that he had found people he didn't mind being around, once the match began the other players took the quaffle and rushed towards the hoops. But no sooner than they got halfway towards them the match had ended, they turned and realized Harry was no longer there. They looked around for him and found Harry walking back to the changing rooms with the snitch held high above his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen I can't believe it" Lee Jordan, the commentator for the match could barley talk "Potter, the youngest seeker in a century has broken the world record for the fastest catch of a snitch in a match ever" The Slytherin's were so surprised that they forgot to boo.

"Not my best" Harry commented as he entered the changing room "but then again not my worse".


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- Philosopher stone

Soon it was Christmas time, Harry and the Weasleys were the only ones left in the common room. Each got a Weasley jumper from Mrs. Weasley; Harry only wore his because the twins and Ginny badgered him until he put it on. He was still very upset with Ginny's mum but why waste a good jumper, naturally he checked the jumpers for charms and spells. His was the only one that had one any, once he had removed the tracking charm he put it on and everyone started handing out presents. Ron gave everyone chocolate frogs and posters of his favorite team, he looked at everyone expecting presents. No one had gotten him any however and everyone gave him at least one chocolate frog each.

The twins gave Harry some prototypes of pranks they were making and a shirt that had the words 'Prongslet' written across it. The twins gave Ginny the same thing but with a diary instead of a shirt, Ginny was a bit upset about it being pink until she found out it was capable of changing into any color she wants and only she could open it. She turned it green after insisting it had nothing to do with Harry's eyes.

Ginny gave the twins a silver bracelet each, Fred's bracelet had 'smart one' inscribed into it while Georges had 'handsome one'. Harry got a kiss on the cheek and a bracelet that had 'Harry x Ginny' inscribed into it. Harry had got the twins some notes on pranks he's father had pulled and he gave them the formula to the potion he used for the Halloween prank, he had gotten Ginny a silver necklace embedded with blue jewels.

Ron naturally insisted she shouldn't be allowed to keep and ended up unconscious on his bed, Harry explained how her necklace could be kept safe for her at his house. Ginny agreed and Stink came and took the necklace back to Potter mansion. Soon the four went down to breakfast where the four tables were replaced with one massive round one. The four sat with the teachers and began eating breakfast, when they weren't talking to each other they were talking to the teachers about school.

Just after Quirrell and Dumbledore left Harry had given the house heads their gifts, he gave Sprout a unique and rare plant from one of his green houses at his manor which made her unbelievably happy. Professor Flitwick had gotten a book on rare charms, McGonagall was given a silver necklace with a white cat pendant, similar to the necklace and dog pendant he had sent Sirius. When it came to Snape, Harry had given him a collection of rare potion ingredients and a letter and photo of his mother. To say the teachers were touched would be an understatement; the twins swore that they saw tears coming from Professor Snape.

When they returned to the common room, the four found 'someone' had sent Harry an invisibility cloak, not like Harry needed it, his cloak from Merlin was way better than any invisibility cloak. Harry did keep this cloak however because it was his fathers, and maybe Ginny could use it from time to time. Harry guessed that whoever left this cloak had expected him to use it, so that's precisely what he was going to do. After a little bit of night time wondering he had found himself in a room with a mirror, he noticed somebody else in that room but chose to play along.

He looked into the mirror and was amazed by what he saw, he saw himself, an older version. Standing beside him was an older version of Ginny, behind them he saw the twins and next to them he saw his parents.

"Hello Harry" A familiar grandfatherly voice, Dumbledore emerged. Pride in his eyes and a smile on his lips, Harry was going to play along but he had hoped the old man would hurry up, it's midnight. "I see you like so many others have found the mirror of erised"

"I guess so" Harry looked towards the mirror "it shows you whatever you want right?"

"The mirror shows you nothing more or less than the deepest desires of our hearts; men have wasted away in front of it, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. I ask that you never look for this mirror again Harry, it…"

"Okay" Harry interrupted as he picked up his cloak and made to leave

"Harry" Dumbledore called "I feel like I already know the answer but if you don't mind me asking, what did you see in the mirror?" Harry took a breath before turning to Dumbledore with a smile.

"Well sir" Harry began "I saw….socks"

"Socks?!" Dumbledore was beyond confused, Harry found it very amusing

"Yes sir" Harry nodded "you can never have too many socks, goodbye sir." Dumbledore stood absolutely still

"WHAT THE F" Was all that could be heard before the door shut.

After the students returned the next few days were relatively normal, the only noticeable difference was Hermione and Ron working out what the dog was guarding. It took Harry and Ginny about two minutes after Hagrid accidently let Flammels name slip through his lips. Hagrid was rather nice and Harry and Ginny were fond of him, he had great stories about their families and he was as kind and gentle as they came. The only thing Harry could really fault him on was his cooking and ability to keep secrets. And maybe the fact that he wanted to keep a dragon, but the pair had quickly persuaded him to send it to Charlie.

After working out what was down there and that Quirrell would be going down there tonight, the two decided to do something about it. They had instructed the twins to incapacitate Ron and Hermione then call the Professors ten minutes after they left. Once they entered the door they were greeted by a three headed dog, something Harry quickly dealt with by conjuring three giant rubber balls and sneaking past. Ginny handled the devil snare with a simple flame spell, when they had gotten to the broom riding task, the two decided that summoning the key would be a lot easier. Then they reached the chess set.

"I think we have to play it" Ginny guessed

"Nah that's stupid" Harry shrugged and the two walked around the chess set

"I can't believe that worked" Ginny laughed

"Wizards" Harry snickered "big on magic, not logic"

When they reached the potions portion Harry decided that he should probably just drink the one that's already half drunk. Ginny agreed to wait behind for when back up came. Harry walked through only to find Quirrell standing in front of the mirror.

"Hello Potter" he spoke without his usual stutter

"Hello Professor" Harry spoke with a bored voice "let me guess, the mirror has something to do with the stone"

"Yes" Quirrell let out a short laugh "the old fool has hidden it in the mirror"

"So all I need to do to stop you getting it is destroy the mirror" Harry raised his wand at the mirror, when he did he saw his mirror half slide something red into his pocket "Bombarda" Harry whispered.

"NO!" Quirrell screamed when the mirror burst into pieces "what did you just do?!"

"Damage school property and piss you off at the same time, today's been productive hasn't it?"

"Let me speak to him" A raspy voice spoke

"Master you're not strong enough" Quirrell whimpered

"I have strength, enough for this" The voice replied, Quirrell removed his turban and turned around. Revealing a face on the back of his head

"Voldermort?" Harry asked the face, knowing the answer already

"Yes" The face replied "see what I've been become? Me the dark lord, now a mere parasite"

"You were always a parasite" Harry smiled "except now you feed off of people instead of power, though I have to admit, I am interested in your choice of vessel. I mean Quirrell, seriously? What, was Filch busy?"

"Make your jokes Potter" Voldermort chuckled "I find them quite amusing, now any last words before I kill you?"

"Yes" Harry removed the stone from his pocket "this is for mum and dad" Harry crushed the stone in his hand, reducing it to nothing but dust

"NO!" Voldermort screamed "Get him!" he growled.

Quirrell turned and fired a cutting curse at Harry, who simply leaned back and dodged it before throwing his own cutting curse which struck Quirrell in the leg. Quirrell shot another curse which Harry batted away before firing a reducto that hit him in the arm. Quirrell decided to forget magic and tackle Harry, Harry dodged but his hand brushed against his head. Harry was surprised by the fact that Quirrell began to burn, this must have been the protection his mother left, he vaguely remembered Merlin telling him about it. Harry grabbed Quirrells face and held on until he was reduced to nothing.

Voldermorts spirit flew from Quirrells ashes towards Harry, fortunately Harry managed to dodge it. At that point backup came in the form of the staff, the twins and Ginny. All of them looked immensely pleased and proud of Harry, except for Dumbledore who was trying his best not to look mad. Harry suspected it was because he destroyed the stone and mirror. After an insisted checkup from Madam Pomfrey, Harry had spent the next few days living happily, everyone had heard what had happened and his real friends stopped people from bothering him too much. Ron claimed he was responsible but everyone knew to ignore him by this point. Harry had spent the next few days avoiding Dumbledore and it was working until he insisted Harry stay back at the leaving feast. After everyone left, Harry insisted that the head of houses stay for the conversation.

"Harry" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled a bit too much, Harry got the impression he was forcing them to do so "where are you going once you leave school?"

"I'm not sure yet" Harry replied "I'll probably go somewhere to eat before I head home"

"Where is your home Harry?" Dumbledore asked, not noticing the looks of the Professors on his left and right.

"Somewhere safe and secure" Harry insisted "sorry Headmaster but it won't stay the way if I go around telling people, I haven't even told my best friends"

"But Harry, what if I need to contact you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Then you send an owl sir, my wards will redirect it to a letter box which can only be opened by myself and my elves. That letterbox also has its own set of wards, so even that couldn't be found" Dumbledore, ignoring the impressed looks from the Professors, continued

"Harry, wouldn't it be simpler if you return to your relatives? I can reinstall the blood wards there, you would be perfectly safe"

"No thank you" Harry politely refused, though he and the Professors were internally shouting at least fifty curse words, some unrepeatable and if heard could result in expulsion or being fired "I enjoy my current home, I like spending time there. The elves and I are a family and nothing you or anyone else could say can make me return there."

"But Harry" The tired Headmaster started

"Sorry sir" Harry interrupted "I don't intend to offend you but you are just a headmaster and unless I request your opinion or help in the matter of where I live, it's really none of your business is it? Wouldn't be wise to overstep boundaries would it? Now if you'll excuse me and my friends would like to catch the train on time. Hmm, maybe I could make it if I flame travel. Fawkes!" Harry raised his hand just as Fawkes appeared and grabbed the bird's tail feather; he and Fawkes winked at the exact same time before flaming out, leaving a infuriated Headmaster and four teachers who were trying as hard as possible not to laugh.

On the train Harry and Ginny found a compartment, the twins joined them temporarily before leaving to see Lee Jordan. Harry and Ginny were preparing for the trio of idiots and came up with plans to deal with each of them. First was Ron, who invited himself in and sat down.

"Hey Harry" He greeted enthusiastically, ignoring Ginny "Mum said I should invite you to our house, it's not much but you'd really enjoy it."

"I'm not particularly interested in coming but why not? It'll be fun hanging out with Ginny and the twins"

"About that" Ron replied "you shouldn't hang out with the twins, they're jokers but that's all they're good for. And you don't want hang out with Ginny, I mean she's just an annoying fan girl" Ginny smiled, knowing what Harry had planned.

"I have someone who might disagree with you" Harry's lips curved up slightly

"Who?" Ron asked

"This guy" Was all Harry said before a giant spider landed on Ron's head and he ran out of the compartment, leaving the two in stitches.

"How long before that turns back into a pencil?" Ginny managed to get out between laughs

"About an hour" Harry replied. Next came Malfoy, before he opened the door Harry did a quick voice altering spell

"Hello Potter" Malfoy sneered

"Hello Malfoy" Harry responded with an identical sneer using Malfoys voice

"What?" Draco blurted out "think your-"

"Funny Potter?" Harry completed the sentence still in Malfoys voice

"You'd better stop the Potter or"

"My father will hear about this" Harry interrupted, silently casting a spell behind his back. Draco prepared to respond with a witty retort.

"My father will hear about this" Draco responded, wait a sec that wasn't what he was going to say "My father will hear about this! My father will hear about this?" Draco couldn't say anything else, no matter how many times he tried, he screamed it one more time before running away. Fortunately for the pair, they were sitting, because if they were standing they would have fell down from laughing too hard.

"What's so funny?" A familiar voice asked, the two sat up to see Hermione standing in the doorway looking disapproving

"Nothing" The two said at the exact same time before laughing again.

"Listen Harry" Hermione spoke as she sat down opposite him and next to Ginny, making the later feel a little bit uncomfortable "this summer you're inviting me to your house" The laughter stopped because the two were now very confused

"Why would I invite you to my house? I haven't even invited Ginny yet"

"You're going to invite me because you need me" Hermione spoke confidently "I'm the only one in our year intelligent enough to challenge you"

"I'm sitting right here" Ginny commented

"And the only one willing to do so" Hermione continued "now you're going to invite me to your house so we can spend some time together. You and I can research stuff in your library, I can give you my opinion on your house and you can free those elves of yours. Come on now Harry, it's for the best, you don't want to become spoiled and pampered like all those purebloods do you? And besides I'm much better company than you usually keep, aren't I" Harry and Ginny could swear she was batting her eyelashes

"Ginny, do you know what I don't like about people who think they're better than me?" Harry looked at her and she slowly shook her head "well ignoring their attitudes, I hate that they think they can tell me what to do" Harry looked back at Hermione

"Now listen up because I don't want to spend the rest of the train ride explaining this to you. You may be intelligent, not as intelligent as Ginny but you are intelligent. However you're about as smart as a sack of potatoes, if I haven't invited my best friend then why do you think I'd invite you to 'research stuff' in my personal library. And why would your opinion on my house matter when I disagree with most of your opinions? I'm not getting rid of my house elves, they're my family and I didn't put a wand to their heads.

They've joined me willingly and how dare you accuse me of being pampered?! While your parents were buying you toys and books, my aunt and uncle were beating and starving me for being who I am. I'm taking charge of my life and nobody tells me what to do anymore, not unless I let them. And as for your company comment, I'd rather spend a day with Neville's toad then spend an hour talking to you" Those words combined with the sheer power Harry was emanating was enough to make Hermione run away. Ginny spent the next hour of the journey home calming Harry down and discussing his last conversation with Dumbledore.

Once the pair and the twins exited off the train they were greeted by the Weasley parents whilst Ron and Percy were still on the train looking for Ron's rat and Percy's prefect badge. They couldn't find them at all, the twins definitely didn't have anything to do with that. Harry had to do his best not to laugh when he saw Draco talking to his parents, still unable to say anything besides 'my father will hear about this'.

"Hello" Mr. Weasley shook his hand "my names Arthur and this is my wife Molly, I understand you've become friends with my son Ron?"

"No sir my friends are Ginny and the twins" Harry respondedmmHmm , he could see Ginny's mother was about to say something so he decided to go on "they've been a great help. They actually encouraged me to go to Gryffindor"

"Did they?" Molly seemed quite surprised, enough to forget what she was going to say

"Oh yes" Harry was acting his socks off "Ginny told me about how it's the best house and the twins convinced me she was telling the truth, to be honest the hat offered me the chance to go to Slytherin and I would have accepted it if it wasn't for these three. They've been wonderful helping me out with Quidditch, understanding the pure blood system, studying and telling me all about the light side" Molly looked towards Ginny and the twins who were smiling innocently

"Well done" She hugged them before turning back to Harry

"What about Percy?" She asked

"I've barley seen him all year" Harry replied, it was true, only because Harry was avoiding him.

"We think" Fred spoke

"that Percy" George continued

"was a little"

"too busy"

"to help"

"young Harry" Molly looked furious

"What about Ron?" She asked, praying for a good answer

"No offence but I wouldn't let him be my friend if he paid me. Ginny, you explain, if your mom is half as nice as you tell me then she'll believe you"

"Okay Harry" Ginny nodded before taking over Harry's job as lead actor "whenever Ron's around Harry he's always being mean or annoying, he keeps following him around, he always talks with his mouth full, he's always trying to take credit for things Harry does and there's also how he acts in class. In class he keeps getting in trouble or trying to distract Harry, the teachers have actually had to move him away from Harry in class." Molly looked like she was going to faint

"There's also his fascination with Slytherin house" Harry added, he was in the pool so he figured why not go to the deep end.

"What?!" Molly shrieked, Ginny ducked her face out of view so her mother couldn't see her smile. The twins were in shock, they expected a lie or two but that was big. Ron is going to be in so much trouble, somehow they were okay with that.

"He's always talking about Slytherin" Harry explained "be it class related or not, he disguises it by saying he hates them but personally I think he's jealous of how they're all rich. One time I saw him trying on their uniform" Molly was about to faint, fortunately Arthur had managed to hold her up.

"Sir" Harry spoke to him "do you mind if I come and visit over the summer to see the twins and Ginny?"

"Sure" Arthur smiled

"Thank you sir" Harry returned the smile before having a quick internal debate about adding, one more lie. "You're so kind sir, that's probably why Ron say you're his favorite parent" Obviously the better side won.

Arthur smiled, he knew what was going on but it was too hilarious to not play along. Molly looked absolutely furious, her face seemed to match the color of her hair and Harry expected steam to come out of her ears. The twins in that moment decided that if there was ever a chance that Harry would become their brother, they would take it within a heartbeat. Harry could have sworn he had heard four other people laughing but quickly dismissed it. Harry turned around and hugged Ginny because he expected her to burst out laughing. She pressed her face into his chest to stop any sound from coming out, they were like that for a good minute before she managed to suppress her laughter. Molly was too furious to notice.

"I'll miss you" Ginny whispered

"I'll have the elves pop in with letters when I'm not there" Harry whispered back "I'll see you other the summer, until next time Mrs. Potter" Ginny gasped as Harry kissed her on the forehead and left. She was dazed, not dazed enough to not notice and laugh at her mother shouting at Percy and Ron but dazed. 'I'm going to marry him one day' she thought for what felt like the first she had ever thought about it.

Once Harry had made his way through the barrier, he walked away whistling a merry tune as he went. He decided to take the opportunity to visit a restaurant, there was one he owned nearby and the best part was Wizards and witches ran it so he had Stink take his stuff back while went inside. He stopped and was amazed to see the Dursley's sitting at a table with a very important looking man in a suit. Harry however recognized the man, he had seen a picture of him when one of the second year was showing off his photo album, Harry being the kind soul he was would decide to leave the Dursley's alone as he's made them suffer enough.

"Hello guys" Harry cheerfully spoke as he sat down, the Dursley's were too scared and surprised to say anything "nice restaurant isn't it?"

"What are you doing here?" Uncle Vernon blurted out, his face now red

"Well I finished my first year at Hogwarts and I just came back and decided I'd have a bite to eat, I figure why waste money when I own this place and can eat for free. I'm just waiting for them to get my food ready so I can pick it up and leave"

"Harry Potter" The man exclaimed "The names Jonathon Coach, it's an honor to meet you, all the stories I hear about you at Hogwarts are simply amazing!"

"You're one of them?!" Vernon asked

"No" The man shook his head "I'm just a regular Muggle like you guys, my son however isn't. All the stories his told me of Harry are simply amazing. Being the best in every class, taking away the Headmasters Phoenix, leading the school during an attack from a troll and plenty of other things"

"I try" Harry wiped some imaginary dust off of his shoulders "do you know all the staff here are wizards and witches as well? What are you doing here?"

"Your uncle wants to work for me? I can only assume you'd recommend him?"

"Quite the opposite actually" Harry spoke calmly, while his uncle looked like he was boiling. The other two looked two scared to move, they weren't going to forget what Harry did any time soon.

"Why's that?" Jonathon asked curiously

"I can recommend people who spent the first half of my life beating and starving me and making me live in a cupboard"

"What?!" Jonathon was now the reddest thing in the whole country "how could you do that after all he's for you?!"

"All he's done for us?" Vernon slammed his fist on the table "all his done is waste money, take up space and bother us with his freakishness."

"Freakishness?!" Jonathon roared

"Allow me to explain" Harry spoke in an ice cold voice "my aunt hated my sister because she was a witch even thought my aunt wasn't, therefore my aunt hates me because I'm her son and a wizard. Dudley hates me because that's what his parents taught him to do and because I was the weak little boy he'd beat up and get rewarded for doing so. Uncle Vernon hates me because I'm different; he hates anyone who's different. He thinks all magic users are freaks. He was hoping to 'beat' the freakishness out of me' and he spent the rest of his time complaining about spending money on me.

I found that particularly funny because it turned out that I owned the company he used to work at and he got five hundred pounds a month to look after me. Didn't spend any of it on me though, I just got whatever Dudley no longer wanted"

"I think the police should hear about his" Jonathon whipped out his phone

"No need" Harry smiled "expect the wizarding court to send a letter, they'll deal with them, they're not as nice as the muggle authorities from what I hear. Harry stood and shook Jonathon's hand "I believe my foods ready so I'm going to go now, I advise against any business you may want to do with them . Good bye"

"Haven't you done enough?" Petunia managed to find her voice "why can't you just go away?!" A small smile appeared on Harry's lips.

"Believe it or not, I thought those exact words every single day you shoved me into that cupboard, you all took seven years of my life, so you can't really complain can you?" Harry turned and walked away. He took his food and returned home, he ate before saying hello to all the elves and animals. He spent the rest of the day relaxing, planning what he'd do this summer, maybe he'd go see Ginny tomorrow, after that he'd probably do some work on freeing Sirius.

"Mom, Dad" Harry spoke out loud just before he fell asleep "tomorrow I'm going to go see Ginny, after that I'm going to work on freeing Padfoot. I'm taking my life back, I hope you're proud of me. I'm going to live life my way now, not voldys or Dumbledore's. My way. Good night!" Harry fell asleep whilst the Marauders began talking.

"Should I even bother saying I'm proud of him?" James smiled

"You're not the only one" Lilly smiled

"You're son is the child I never knew I wanted" Sirius leaned back into his chair, grinning as wide as possible "I still can't get over Dumbledore's reaction to socks"

"What about how he dedicated destroying the stone to the two of you?" Remus asked

"That was brilliant" Lilly was smiling wider than Sirius "I thought him giving those presents to everyone was adorable"

"I know" James agreed "he's changed everything, I don't even dislike Snape as much as I use to. I'd kill him if he tries to kiss you but my respect for the guy has shot up"

"Careful James, or 'his father will hear about this'" Sirius laughed loudly

"I rather enjoyed how he decided to deal with those three on the train" Remus chuckled "we need to remember a few of those spells"

"Yeah" Lilly agreed "the first two were prats but how dare that girl try to tell my son what to do?! I saw her batting her eyes at him, even though it's obvious he only cares about Ginny. If she's smart I don't want to see what's dumb, now let's not get started on the Dursley's again. We'd be here forever"

"Fair enough" Sirius replied whilst making no effort to stop laughing "I still can't believe what your son, my godson, did at the train. He actually found a way to make himself and his friends look good in front of their mother, simultaneously making things easier for them and making it worse for those prats. He is the true heir to the Marauders! Oh my god, I can't wait to see him meet me"

"Well let's watch on then" James gestured to the screen "my love for my son is growing every minute"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – The start of second year

Harry had divided the summer into self-improvement, visiting Ginny and the twins and helping out Sirius. The first part was easy enough, Harry had the knowledge of Merlin, and all he needed to do was practice. The second part was Harry's most favorite part of the summer, admittedly he had to put effort into avoiding eating anything Mrs. Weasley offered, just in case she had put something in it. Percy was ignoring him whilst Ron was no longer trying to befriend him; in fact he now hated him.

Not that Harry cared; Ron didn't do anything over than glare at him. Ron had heard from his mother about what Harry had told her, his mother didn't believe Harry was lying and proceeded to make the rest of his summer hell by giving him more chores and less food. He challenge Harry to a game of chess nearly every time he saw him, Harry obliged and beat him every time. Merlin was a chess genius and the fact that he also trained with Rowena helped a lot. Ron however wouldn't be deterred.

Harry, Ginny and the twins spent a lot of time talking, joking and pranking. All four of them growing more fond of each other as every moment passed. He even introduced them to muggle pranks, they'd only ever use them when their father was around because he would be too fascinated with to punish them. Arthur was also very fond of Harry, especially because he brought various muggle stuff for him to play with. Last week he had brought him a toy helicopter. Molly would occasionally try to get Harry to spill the location of his home, but he never did.

The rest of his time was spent having Fawkes and flame, get his letters to Sirius. Sirius told him how Peter had chopped off a finger and turned into a rat, Harry told Ginny and the twins about it. They had immediately made the connection with Ron's pet rat Scabbers, the four began concocting a plan to deal with him and get Sirius free whilst also stopping Harry from killing him. Eventually they came up with an idea.

Arthur was sitting in the kitchen reading the local paper whilst Percy, Ron and Mrs. Weasley had gotten a letter from 'Dumbledore' that requested them to leave as soon as possible and go to the market. Harry came down the stairs with the rat cage in his hand and the rat inside. He was followed by Ginny and the twins.

"Mr. Weasley" Harry spoke politely "I was trying to explain the animagus revealing spell to Ginny but she doesn't seem to understand, I was wondering if you could show it to her using Ron's rat, from what I understand nothing will happen to it because it's a normal rat but I think it would at least help her understand it."

"No problem my lad" Arthur stood up and did the spell, Harry had took a step back and had readied his wand. Much like in Harry's plan, Pettigrew was revealed, bursting out of the cage. Harry stunned him and put him in the full body bind, he knew the ministry only monitored non magical houses and areas so he'd be fine using magic here. He had told Ginny and the twins this too, only after he had them promise to pretend they didn't know.

Arthur called the aurors whilst Harry took pictures with his camera which he had charmed to work in magical areas, he did this because he knew he might need extra proof. Some brilliant acting from the four and Harry had managed to secure a trial. At the trial Pettigrew was put under truth serum and revealed his crimes, then they called Sirius Black. He was brought in by a pair of aurors, he was skinny had long black hair and looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. After the trial he was pronounced a free man and was taken to hospital, that's when Harry stopped by for a chat. He sat next to his bed and the two began talking, Harry had told Sirius all about his life. Minus the Merlin part of course.

First Sirius was angry at the Dursley's and Dumbledore, then he was laughing to high heavens when he heard what Harry did. He event teased Harry about Ginny, Harry didn't reveal the magical contract yet but maybe later. Harry told Sirius about his first year, Sirius was angry at Dumbledore and the terrible trio, he was surprised by Snape and the beaming with pride at the end of the voldermort part of the story.

Harry then decided to tell Sirius about the more hilarious events that occurred, each kept getting more laughter from Sirius, Sirius was laughing so much that Harry had to wonder if he was going to end up injuring himself. Once Harry had told him about what happened at the train station Sirius laughed o hard that Harry thought he had finished him off, he decided to leave his second meeting with the Dursley's for another time.

"So" Sirius wiped a tear from his eyes "where are you living now?"

"Sorry Sirius" Harry whispered "I can't tell you, let's just say that there are a lot of people who want to know and they might not go about finding the information out in the nicest way possible. However if you need a place to stay then I have a few extra places I can lend you" Sirius looked disappointed but continued speaking.

"Alright I get that" He nodded " and don't worry about my living arrangements. I mean I couldn't be there for you yet you send me letters and potions, get me a trial and my freedom. I can't take any more from you, don't worry I have at least two places I can stay at. I talked with one of your dad's old friends, Mooney"

"The Mooney?!" Harry exclaimed

"The very one" Sirius smiled "I'll introduce you later, long story short we talked and apologized to each other and he's offered me to stay at his place. However I was rather wondering…if you wanted to spend some more time together?"

"Hell yeah!" Harry nodded

"Really?!" Sirius asked and Harry nodded again "first of all I have to be responsible now, so language, there I did that. Second of all I just want to make it clear, I'm not trying to replace your dad. No one could replace him, but I want to do whatever makes you happy. You deserve happiness"

"Thanks Sirius" Harry wiped away a tear "it would be nice to have a father figure in my life, I have no problem with that but I have a few conditions. The first is I still get to spend time with my friends obviously, the second is I lend you a house elf to help you. Don't worry I have forty nine more, the third is if you see Snape again then be nice to him. I'm not saying become best mates but at least be civil to each other for my sakes and my last condition is you get healthy and take a bath"

Sirius eventually agreed and Harry's summer schedule was pretty much the same except he spent more time with Sirius. Ron seemed to get worse; in his mind it was somehow Harry's fault that his rat was Pettigrew. Eventually everyone got their Hogwarts letters and Harry agreed to meet them in Diagon alley, first Harry and Ginny snuck off to buy her a new wand. She'd been using her grandmothers wand for school and Harry had forbid her from revealing the other one unless it was an emergency.

Then they snuck back into the group and everyone brought their robes shortly before everyone was dragged everyone to the book store, Harry had already owl ordered his own books and read them but then again he had nothing else to do so he went with them. Hermione was also there, she smiled at him as if the last conversation the two had never happened. There was a big commotion at the store, apparently Gilderoy Lockhart was signing books.

"Not this idiot" Harry sighed, unfortunately Hermione heard him

"What do you mean?!" She shot him a glare

"I don't have time for fakes" Harry responded

"He's not a fake! He wrote all those books!"

"Hermione" Harry spoke slowly "books don't always tell the truth. I found a book about myself that was written by a German author and it claimed I had defeated a dragon when I was ten with a cat. Now that is ridiculous because I like dragons, the book was written when I was nine and I would have used a dog" Ginny giggled but Harry was still getting shouted at by Hermione.

"Just because those books were fake doesn't mean he's are" Hermione argued

"No the mismatching dates and the unrealistic events in them do" Harry shot back "according to his 'accurate books' he was fighting Vampires in Italy around the same time he was fighting werewolves in Romania. Also if he knows a spell that can change werewolves back into humans then why doesn't everyone know it? Or why doesn't he teach it to us or at least tell us the name of the spell? And for someone who has been fighting the most dangerous creatures and people in the world, he looks remarkably unbothered by his adventures doesn't he? You'd have thought all those near death experiences would make him smile a bit less" Hermione had no answer. Unfortunately at the moment Lockhart saw Harry.

"Merlin's beard, it's Harry Potter" Lockhart shouted. The camera man tried to pull Harry to the front, but he was surprised by the fact he couldn't even move Harry. "Come on Harry" Lockhart insisted "come take a picture with me, I know our fans would like it"

"I'd rather not" Harry sighed

"Don't be nervous Harry" Lockhart put a massive pile of books on the table "come on, I'll give you my entire signed work for free. All for you"

"Well in that case" Harry walked forward, Lockhart was about to clasp an arm around his shoulder when Harry took his book, deposited them into Ginny's cauldron and walked away leaving a very stunned crowd, a rather embarrassed Lockhart, a constantly clicking cameraman and a lot of angry fan girls including Hermione. Ginny followed after him and the two were soon stopped by Malfoy

"Famous Harry Potter" he stood in front of them "can't even go to a book store without getting noticed"

"Leave him alone" Ginny demanded, Harry could handle Malfoy but knowing Ginny was there made him much more confident

"Look Potter" Malfoy drawled "you've got yourself a girlfriend?"

"So what if I do?" Harry smiled "she's better than you'll ever get, how is Goyle doing anyway? Or are you dating Crabbe?" Before Malfoy could respond Malfoy Senior entered the fray and introduced himself

"Forgive me" He looked at Harry's scar "your scar is legendary"

"That as maybe but my eyes are slightly further down, now unless you'd like pay commission I'd ask you to please stop looking at me like that" Soon the rest of the Weasleys arrived, the two heads of houses got into a fight after Malfoy took one of Ginny's book, once it ended Harry noticed him putting the book back but with an extra one. He took the book out and examined it when nobody was looking.

"Damn it, I knew he'd have more" Harry grumbled before having Stink take it back to the mansion

"What is it?" Ginny asked, once Harry explained it was horcrux Ginny looked disgusted

"Let's tell dad" She suggested

"No" Harry refused, but he remained calm to make his point "I get why you think we should but we can't, at least not yet. At the moment it's in my house where nobody can get to it and I can find a way to destroy it. If anyone finds out then they'll try to take it, maybe even by force. I don't think Malfoy knew what it was or he wouldn't have left it in your cauldron, he probably just thought it was some sort of dark object. All it would take is one death eater to hide this and Voldermort never dies"

"Fine" Ginny caved, everyone thought that she expected life with Harry to be perfect. She knew it wouldn't be and she knows that at some point she or he might end up in real danger. All she could do is trust his judgment.

Soon the shopping was done, when Harry had gotten home the elves had told him about how the Malfoy house elf tried to get in through the wards, he failed and the elves had caught him and took him to an abandoned forest a few miles away. Harry arrived there to see two of his elves holding the frightened elf while five others stood behind them. Stink stood alongside Harry.

"Let him go guys" Harry instructed his elves, "now what's your name"

"Dobby sir, Dobby the house elf" Dobby replied with a bowed head, he was clearly nervous

"Don't worry" Harry reassured Dobby "I'm not going to hurt you, I understand you're the Malfoys house elf, why were you trying to force your way into my home?"

"Dobby has come to warn Potter about a great threat, Harry must not go to Hogwarts"

"Are you referring to the diary?" Harry asked, Dobby's golf ball eyes widened "judging by your reaction I'd say yes, don't worry I've dealt with that just this morning" Harry eyed the elf and saw his dirty pillow case and damaged hands

"Your masters punish you don't they? Harry asked, Dobby reluctantly nodded he picked up a rock and was about to hit himself over the head with it when the other elves snatched it away from him.

"Master Harry forbids elves punishing themselves" Stick explained to the confused elf

"Dobby" Harry continued "it was very brave of you to defy your masters to do what's right, how'd you like to become my house elf?" The elf burst into tears

"Dobby wishes sir" He sniffed "Dobby's family will never free him, they don't even let Dobby wash clothes

"You know Draco Malfoy?" Harry spoke with a mischievous grin "drop a sock on his head, when he throws it off catch it" Dobby's eyes dried and he smiled as wide as he possibly could. He popped away and returned a minute later while holding a white sock

"Master has given Dobby sock! Dobby is free!"

"Congratulations Dobby" Harry smiled "now how about it? Do you want to become one of my house elves or would you rather stay free?"

"Dobby has always wanted to be free but Dobby has also heard of Harry Potters greatness, Dobby wishes to become Mr. Potters house elf." After taking Dobby in Harry had made him the same offer he made the other elves, Dobby was the first elf to accept pay and event then he wanted less than Harry had offered. Harry had instructed him to assist Stink and work in the Hogwarts kitchens when he wasn't doing that or resting. Harry hoped that making him one of his personal elves would help Dobby.

Soon came the day where it was time to go to Hogwarts, Harry met up with the Weasley family then he and Ginny found a compartment on the train. Fred and George stopped by for a bit and Harry told them all about Padfoot and some of the pranks he played. Soon they left leaving Harry and Ginny alone, Ron didn't bother them this year, Draco however made his appearance.

"Potter!" He roared "I know you have something to do with that stupid house elf running away"

"What?" Ginny asked

"Oh yeah I was about to tell you" Harry ignored Malfoy "during the summer, one of their elves came to me and told me how he didn't want to serve his family enough. I gave him a way to become free, I told him to drop a sock on Draco's head then catch it when he threw it away" Ginny had a similar reaction to Sirius when he told the story, they both burst into giggles "I then offered him the chance to work with me and he took it in a heartbeat, I could hear Draco's dad blaming him about it all the way from my house"

"I knew you did it!" Draco shouted

"Maybe I did" Harry leaned back "the important thing is you can't prove I did and even if you could I broke no laws or rules, so hah"

"You had better watch your back Potter" Harry stood up and walked to Draco

"I'll do that He spoke in a low voice, Draco sneered and walked away, not noticing the 'kick me' sign Harry placed on his back. He and Ginny sat down when the final annoyance came in the form of Hermione standing outside their compartment.

"You shouldn't have put that sign on him" She started and continued despite the sighs coming from Harry and Ginny "that was inappropriate and childish"

"We're twelve and eleven" Ginny argued

"What did he want anyway?" Hermione asked

"Well he was angry that Harry had freed his elf" Ginny answered

"Really?!" Hermione clapped her hands in joy "I knew you'd listen to me"

"Don't hold out too much hope" Ginny giggled

"What does that mean?" Hermione eyed Harry

"When I met the elf he was upset over how they treated him" Harry explained "I told him how to free himself, then I offered him a position as my house elf and before you say anything I am paying him"

"Really?" Ginny raised her eyebrows "I offered him five galleons but he made me lower it to one"

"Well it's a start" Hermione smiled "now all you have to do is convince him to accept more. Now all you have to do is free your other elves or pay them"

"I'm not doing that" Harry shook his head in frustration "they don't want either and I'm not forcing it on them" Hermione argued some more before Harry shot her with a silencing charm and closed the door, he then placed a spell to keep it locked and closed the blinds.

"I don't why I didn't do that in the first place"

"I do" Ginny responded "you wanted to irritate and annoy Malfoy then you forgot to do it."

"That'd be it" Harry laughed "hey Ginny, I know we're still young and all but do you think we're old enough to date?"

"Too young to do much of anything but I don't see what's wrong with dating, why?"

"I don't know" Harry shrugged "I'd just rather start now then wait another year or so, I figure we can start with presents and being romantic and all that now"

The two talked for a while before the train ride stopped and they made their way to the great hall. Harry nodded to his four favorite teachers shortly before the sorting and announcement of Lockhart as the new defense against the dark arts professor. Harry had very descriptive words to describe his opinion of Lockhart teaching but decided to hold it back when he saw Snape and the others trying the same. He and Ginny gave them a sympathetic look which they returned. The girls in the hall apart from a select few which include Ginny were shouting in appreciation and enjoyment, both Harry and the teachers respect for the female population of the school plummeted.

But as long as he didn't bother him or Ginny then Harry could put up without, as a matter of fact Lockhart seemed like the perfect target for the Marauders. Upon thinking about all the things he could do his mouth fell into a smile that only the best pranksters possessed. The twins and Ginny realized what Harry was thinking and plastered matching smiles on their faces. The teachers saw it and lit up with similar smiles, they may have to gloss over some rules but this could end up being a good year after all.

After dinner everyone made their way to the common room, the next day Harry and Ginny were naturally the first to the great hall after the heads of houses. After breakfast the group engaged in a conversation.

"Anything eventful happen over summer?" Flitwick asked

"Oh yeah" Harry nodded "first my godfather was freed, he's actually written a letter apologizing to you Professor Snape" Snape raised an eyebrow when he handed him the letter "admittedly I had to encourage him to do so but he said he's willing to forgive and forget if you are."

"Thank you" Snape responded, the surprise still very visible

"Oh yeah and there was that business with Malfoys elf" Harry continued and told them the story of what happened

"So I understand you now have fifty one elves?" Sprout asked

"Sort of" Harry responded "I own fifty one but I instructed one of them to look after Sirius, he didn't want me to stop being his master so I didn't exactly give him away. Oh and by the way my elves, will like last year be helping out in the kitchens"

"That should be fine" McGonagall smiled before handing him his time table

"That's not bad is it?" Harry asked Ginny

"No" She smiled "we start the day with our favorite Slytherin"

"If I spend more time with you too I may end up permanently smiling" Snape responded with an annoyed voice but everyone could tell it was fake.

"Good morning all" Lockhart entered, and Snapes fake annoyance soon became real

"Hello Harry" Lockhart flashed his snowy white teeth "you're an early bird aren't you? I hope you've read my books"

"I've read them all at least twice sir"

"Excellent, I'll go and have breakfast and I shall see you later in class" Once Lockhart had walked off everyone else was looking at him with surprise and disappointment. Harry figured he should probably explain before they make assumptions.

"The first time was to see if there was anything useful in there, the second time was just so I could count the mistakes" The teachers felt reassured and glad that they're top student wasn't just another clingy fan, Ginny was just glad her boyfriend wasn't an idiot.

In defense class Lockhart made them all answer questions, all of which, had nothing to do with defense but rather about him. One question even asked what his best angle was? Harry sadly knew the answers to the questions from reading the books, however this was one accomplishment he was not going to accept so he decided to write 'meh' for all his answers whereas Ginny stuck with 'who cares?' Harry was further annoyed when Ginny had actually gotten at least one question right

Hermione naturally got full marks, Harry was just glad her attention wasn't on him. Lockhart then introduced the class to pixies, pixies that managed to escape and wreak havoc on the classroom. While all the students were running away, Lockhart called out to Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione

"Do us a favor and round them up please" he shouted before running away. Hermione turned around to find Harry and Ginny had disappeared. Later an angry Ron and Hermione found Harry and Ginny holding hands and eating in the great hall. The two strode up to them.

"Where were you two?!" Hermione demanded "you were supposed to help us with the pixies!"

"We just copied what our teacher did" Ginny said with an innocent face

"Besides they were only pixies" Harry added "I'm sure you pair of above average students and the great Lockhart could handle a small group of little blue flying people"

"You think your funny?" Ron growled

"Yes" Harry nodded, Ron however suddenly became very interested in their joined hands

"Why are you holding hands with my sister?" Ron shouted

"Fred and George stuck our hands together" Harry replied

"What really?" Ron was so gullible it was painful

"No you idiot" Ginny responded "he's holding my hand because he's my boyfriend"

"No he's not, you're too young to have a boyfriend, besides when did you two even become boyfriend and girlfriend? Like Harry would be your boyfriend when he could have nearly any girl in the school." Ginny was furious, but the last comment struck a cord and she began to wonder. Harry had never given her a reason to doubt his loyalty but she did wonder why he chose her, was it because she was the first girl who would willingly hang out with him. She knew it wasn't because of her looks, maybe it was just because of the marriage contract. Harry, however, was and is still furious.

"First of all it's not for you to decide if she's too young to date, second of all she became my girlfriend on the train ride over here and finally, I don't care about any other girls you prat!" Harry stood up and dragged Ginny away with him.

"Sorry Gin" Harry apologized as soon as they were alone "I just got a bit angry and figured it be best if we leave before one of us kills him"

"Hmm" She absently replied

"Gin what's wrong?" Harry asked with a voice full of concern

"It's just the last thing Ron said" She took a deep breath before continuing "I trust you one hundred percent but I was hoping you could tell me now so I don't have doubts in the future. Why are you with me? You're the handsome, rich, famous, heroic, funny and kind Harry Potter, why do you want to be with me?" Ginny held back her tears, she knew they were going to burst soon

"I think I understand" Harry replied, thinking his answer through in his head "Ron's last comment made you wonder why I chose you and your wondering if I did it because your my first friend that's a girl or because of the contract? Am I right?" Ginny slowly nodded her head, she was surprised to see a smile on Harry's face

"Gin" he spoke softly "first off all forget about the contract, I'm not letting anyone, especially Dumbledore tell me what to do or who to love. As for my being my first friend, I should let you know my first friends were spiders and when I was in muggle school. I did have a friend and she was a girl" Ginny was surprised, Harry never told her about this

"I never told you or anyone else about this because I didn't want you to pity me. But I know when someone's being nice to me or pretending, I've always known. It's one of the few things I gained from my time in the muggle world. This girl, her name was Sarah, she was really nice to me. Really nice and yes, she was pretty. But I always knew she couldn't be trusted, I knew it but I ignored it because I was so desperate for a friend.

Then one day, she tricked me into running into my cousin and his gang, they beat me up and broke my right leg. After that I never I doubted my instincts again, I can always tell when a person is nice or not. I did it with your dad and your brothers and your parents so I knew which ones to trust and I did it with you. You're not my first friend, you're just the first person I ever trusted. The first person who liked me for me, I know the twins and Neville wouldn't abandon me if I stopped helping them. But you're the only person I feel comfortable being around.

Gin you're smart, strong, pretty, funny, kind and I trust you with my life because I know that you wouldn't betray me. People may tell you you're lucky to be near me but I feel lucky just getting to know you. You're someone I can care for and someone I know cares for me" Ginny was right, she did start crying, fortunately these were tears of happiness. She hugged Harry as hard as she could and sobbed into his shoulder, eventually she pulled away and whipped her eyes.

"Thanks Harry" Harry leaned in and pecked her on the lips

"You're welcome" He whispered before grabbing her hand

"Harry that was my first kiss"

"Mine too" Harry smiled "told you I was serious about us"

"What's going on here?" The pair turned to find Snape looking at them, he looked quite concerned after noticing the tears that still hung on her face and the wetness of Harry's shoulder

"It's nothing sir" Ginny sniffed "Ron upset me and Harry calmed me down"

"What did your brother do exactly?" Snape turned from a concerned man into one filled with protective rage

"He insulted her sir, right after he found out she had become my girlfriend. He said she couldn't be my girlfriend and wasn't good enough for me"

"Did he know?" Snape drawled "very well Potter ten points for helping a fellow student and take a further ten for defending your girlfriend, if you'll excuse me I'm going to have a chat with Mr. Weasley. Worry not Miss Weasley, your brother will keep all of his limbs, I can't make him do his homework without them."

Snape walked off, his cape billowing behind him, now he had to decide if he'd deal with it himself or involve the other heads of gouses.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Howler, warnings and pranks

Snape had gathered the other head of houses and told them about what had happened with Harry, Ginny and Ron.

"I can assume there is a particular reason you've brought this to our attention instead of dealing with it yourself" Flitwick spoke first

"Yes there is" Snape replied "I was sitting at breakfast when I felt an overwhelming surge of power, I know you three felt it as well. Well, just as I manage to compose myself I see Potter dragging his girlfriend away. Eventually I went after them when I found them and they told me what happened. I think that if Mr Weasley wasn't Ginny's big brother then Potter may have removed some body parts."

"You're saying he held himself back for her?" Sprout asked

"Yes I am" Snape nodded "it's clear to all of us that Potter is holding back in lessons just to stay in her presence, we all know he's more powerful then he lets on. And I have come to a conclusion"

"What may that be?" McGonagall's interest was definitely caught

"Simply put Miss Weasley is the only one capable of controlling Mr Potter" Snape responded "I believe that other than staying in her presence, he holds back so he doesn't frighten her or cause her problems. Now I'd like you to wonder what would happen if her brother or Malfoy insults him? He'd likely brush it off or respond with a witty comment" The three nodded

"Now I'd like you to imagine something else" Snape continued "what would happen if those two insult Miss Weasley? What if she becomes incapable of holding Mr Potter back or isn't there at the time to hold him back?" Their faces became grim at the very thought

"What do you suggest?" Flitwick asked

"Simply this, we need to reign in the other students. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws are fine as they've maintained a neutral standpoint; Miss Granger and Mr Weasley are the only lions that need to be taken control of whereas I have the more difficult task of dealing with my house which is currently divided between hating and respecting the two."

Soon a plan was in place and the Professors got to work, they told Harry and Ginny what they were going to do and after some convincing they agreed to let them do it. Flitwick and Sprout did the same as always and just keep the others from bothering Harry and Ginny in class or in the hall. Snape however went to the common room and called all the second years after sending the rest to their rooms.

"Some of you may be wandering why I have summoned you here" Snape drawled "quite simply, I am ordering you all to leave Mr Potter and Miss Weasley alone and any of their friends" Half of them looked confused, the rest look a bit annoyed

"What? Why?" Malfoy asked

"I am ordering this Malfoy, for your safety. Not Potters" Snape sneered at him

"What do you mean?" Malfoy stared at Snape with disbelief in his eyes

"I mean Mr Malfoy that if you dunderheads had an ounce of intelligence or observation skills than you'd notice that Potter holds back in all his classes"

"So?" One of the Slytherin's asked

"I've spoken with Potters teachers" Snape continued "and after comparing notes, we all very much believe that Potter is capable not only of teaching our classes for us but in fact being better at the subject then us" A few gasps were heard

"Potter not only brews potions perfectly but he does them quicker and more efficiently than me, his transfigurations are flawless as are his charms and from what I understand I believe Mr Malfoy is very fortunate to be walking"

"What do you mean?" Malfoy responded, Snape could hear the curiosity in his voice

"All the times you've insulted Mr Potter and walked away are simply because he has allowed you to walk away" Snape explained "frankly he doesn't see you as a threat. If I was Potter the only people I would consider being threats would be the headmaster or the dark lord."

"You…You're kidding right?" Malfoy asked, fear clearly in his voice. Snapes sneer went into overdrive

"Regrettably for you I am not, in fact I believe that if Potter started practising certain spells or expressed the desire then he could be the next dark lord." The Slytherin's were sweating "I don't believe any of you have any need to worry, Potter has a very tight lid on his temper. However I do believe you should know that Miss Weasley is the only reason his temper is under control, if Potter does harm you then that tells anyone with a brain that you've done something to her and you will be held responsible.

If you chose to do anything to Potter or her then you should know this: I will know, I will not punish Potter if he harms you, I will not take responsibility for any harm that Potter inflicts on you, you will not complain or whine about anything that happens to you and you will consider yourself lucky not to be suspended" Snape turned and walked out, leaving a stunned common room. Malfoy couldn't decide if he believed that, he knew Potter was strong but no way was he that strong. Potter is the teacher's favourite so it's entirely possible their just saying this because Potter complained and they want to get him off their back.

McGonagall knew that her task wouldn't be easy and she'd probably need a headache potion afterwards, but it needed to be done. She called Mr Weasley and Miss Granger to her classroom and sat behind her task, she let out her sighs now before they could come. Once they entered the room and closed the door they walked over to the Professors desk.

"Good evening" She greeted the two of them "do either of you know why I have called you here?"

"No miss" They shook their heads

"I shall start with you Mr Weasley; I'd like to have a discussion with you regarding your sister and Mr Potter"

"You what?" Ron used his signature confused face

"You heard correctly Mr Weasley" McGonagall continued "are you aware that one of the members of staff had found your sister crying? She was quite upset"

"I bet it was Potter" Ron growled "I told her she shouldn't be his girlfriend"

"Actually Mr Weasley" McGonagall's lips thinned "Potter was actually the one who had comforted her and stopped her from crying, when asked why she was crying she blamed you"

"ME?!" Ron couldn't believe it, what had he done?

"Yes you" McGonagall ignored his outburst "from what i understand you have told her she could not be with him and you said something along the lines of she wasn't good enough for her"

"No I didn't" Ron replied "I just said there was no way she was his girlfriend because Harry would never chose her when he could have any girl in the school"

"Ron" Hermione whispered "that's not better"

"I have to agree" McGonagall nodded "not only did you upset your sister and a fellow student, you also interfered in personal matters that were none of your business"

"But she's my sister!" Ron argued

"She's also the sister of your older brothers who, despite being two of the most mischievous student sever to enter this school, have wisely kept to themselves. That's twenty points and I am assigning you a weeks' worth of detention and I will be writing to your mother" Ron's face paled at that last part

"If I hear you have been trying to interfere in personal matters that do not concern you again then I shall double your punishment, you may leave" Ron skulked out leaving a nervous Hermione.

"Now Miss Granger" McGonagall turned to her "do you know why I have called you here?"

"No Professor" Hermione replied "I've done all my homework and I haven't broken any rules"

"I have called you here because I'd like to know why you keep following Mr Potter, many students have informed that they regularly see you attempting to talk to him or shout at him about some thing or another. I was told that you shout at him about homework quite often" Hermione shuffled her feat a little before talking

"Well when every we get homework he never does straight away and he always waste time playing or talking to Ginny and does it at the very last minute and I've never seen him go near the library"

"That's as maybe but he's always handed in his homework on time and his homework is always the best in the class, so I do not see what the problem is. While encouraging him to do homework is admirable, it's neither your job nor duty to force him to do so. Now back to my original question, I'd like to know why you feel the need to constantly approach Mr Potter or engage in conversations with him when it's clear he does not want to" Hermione didn't say anything for a while before she took a breath and began talking

"He needs me Professor"

"Would you like to explain why you think that is?" This would be good

"Miss I'm the smartest witch in our year, we all know Harry's important and he needs my help. I'm the only one smart and willing enough to challenge him"

"Miss Granger, I hope you understand that I am doing my best to not shout at the stupidity of that statement. Though you may be incredibly intelligent and are above average when it comes to theory, I'd like to remind you of two things. The first being your practical side is below average, it'd also be a lot higher if you focused more on your work instead of trying to outdo Mr Potter, the second thing I'd like to remind you of is Miss Weasley is in fact the top witch of your year.

Her practical skills and theory skills are second only to Potter, in fact I very much believe Potter could teach my class if he was of age. Now I was hoping you could tell me what you challenge him on?"

"Okay miss" Hermione spoke with a shaky voice "I challenge Harry on things I think he needs to improve on like getting his homework in on time or spending more time studying and less time goofing off or distracting Ginny. I also tell him how he should waste less time on jokes and quidditch, people look up to him so he should behave like a good role model" Hermione wisely left out her opinion on his house elves

"Miss Granger" McGonagall had decided to wrap this conversation up as she was losing her patience "it is not up to you to decide how Potter behaves, unless Potter is breaking a rule you cannot order him about just because he does things you do not approve of or enjoy. As for quidditch it's an honourable, enjoyable, traditional and noble sport that provides Gryffindor with many house points so I do not see what the problem is. Now as it's obvious that Potter does not enjoy your company I order you to stay away from him and Miss Weasley whenever possible. I will not have you affect their school work and lives to fulfil whatever delusion you have concocted. You may leave and if I hear one more word about you trying to model Potter into what you want him to be or that you're bothering Miss Weasley than you may join her brother in detention"

And with that she sent a tear-eyed bushy girl off, she knew she was harsh but she also knew it would save lives and it was the only way she would listen. She had just hoped it would be enough to stick into their thick heads. Soon it was time for another defence against the dark arts lesson with Lockhart, Harry and Ginny were going to sit at the back until Lockhart 'requested' them to sit at the front. Annoyingly, Hermione and Ron were at the desk behind them.

"Okay class" Lockhart joyfully began "I've trust you've all read your books, now I'm going to re-enact the part where I dealt with the werewolf, now I need a volunteer. Harry, come up and help me boy"

"No thanks" Harry responded, he could actually sense Hermione resisting the urge to say something

"Come on Harry" Lockhart flashed his ridiculously white teeth "no need to be shy"

"I'm not shy" Harry replied "you said you need a volunteer which means willing participant, I however am not willing and do not want to take part this, when you want to teach me something new or do something other than remind me what you've done in your books for the billionth time then I shall take part" The air was thick with tension, Ginny was suppressing giggles whilst most the girls looked furious. Harry was smiling at Lockhart in a way that dared him to say something else

"Right" Lockhart coughed "how about someone else than? Ronald, come up here, you'd make a good werewolf"

Ronald glared at Harry before standing up and going to the front, and helping Lockhart with his werewolf story. The boys in the class were amused by the combination of Lockhart's over enthusiastic acting and Ron's method of doing 'the minimal amount required'. The girls were all paying attention and even swooning, except for the red head at the front that had to duck her head into Harry's chest when Lockhart pretended to choke Ron. Lockhart noticed this and tried to comfort her.

"It's alright young girl" He spoke softly whilst still pretending to choke Ron, not noticing he had put most of his weight on Ron's neck. "As you can see I did survive". 'Unfortunately' Harry thought. Lockhart also didn't notice that Ginny was doing this to stop laughing

"I think she's a bit tired sir" Harry made up on the spot "probably best if I take her to the hospital wing" Harry and Ginny stood up and picked up all their stuff, Lockhart was about to say something when Ron had punched him in the face. Probably to call attention to the fact that he couldn't breathe.

The two ran out of the classroom, before they found themselves collapsing from laughter in an abandoned hallway. They did decide to go to the hospital wing so they could at the very least not be called liars.

"Hello Madam Pomfrey" They greeted the matron once they entered "bye Madam Pomfrey" the two said before leaving a very confused nurse. Just before they turned the corner they managed to see a purple faced Ron and a Lockhart with blood dripping from his nose enter the hospital wing.

The next day was also very funny for the pair; they had spent the previous night making plans with the twins for a certain professor. At lunch that day, before their plan went off, an owl had dropped a red envelope right on Ron's lap. Harry saw Ginny mouth 'howler' and giggle, next thing he knew, Ron's envelope was floating mid-air and a familiar voice was heard.

"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY!" Mrs Weasleys voice roared "HOW DARE YOU UPSET YOUR SISTER?! I'VE GOTTEN A LETTER TELLING ME HOW YOU MADE GINNY CRY! I'M ALSO TOLD YOU'RE FAILING ALL YOUR CLASSES! YOU HAD BEST FIX YOUR ACT YOUNG MAN OR YOUR FATHER AND I MAY JUST HAVE TO HOME SCHOOL YOU! IF YOU PUT ANOHTER TOE OUT OF LINE, WE WILL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME! Oh and Ginny dear, we're so happy for you" What proceeded was the letter sticking a tongue out at Ron then ripping itself up into shreds.

Harry was thinking multiple things at that time, the first was how priceless Ron's face is. The second was he's glad that Ginny's mother was on their side, even if it was probably temporary, the fact that she embarrassed Ron was an added bonus, he then started wondering if Hermione was going to start ranting about paper being wasted or letters committing suicide or something like that.

Ginny however was relieved that her mother was on her side, even if it was temporary. She was also glad that she embarrassed Ron but sadly her howler had brought attention to her. Though she had to admit that the look on Ron's face had made it worth it, Harry and Ginny checked to make sure Lockhart had activated their pranks before walking out. The first prank was a sticking charm which would keep him stuck to the chair for the next hour, the second one was placed in his drink and would make his mouth incapable of doing anything but smiling, the third was in the backrest of his chair and that released a ton of itching powder. The two left along with the other students, the teachers were the only ones left in the hall.

As they stood up, they noticed that Lockhart was still sat down and constantly scratching himself and smiling, but he's eyes conveyed distress. He hopefully looked at the other teachers, who as the kind and responsible adults that they were, ignored him and pretended not to notice anything. They walked off leaving Lockhart all by himself, which sadly meant nobody was capable of teaching the next class.

Most of the students were sitting bored and talking, except for Hermione who was huffing and mumbling when she wasn't sneaking glances at Harry and Ginny who had chosen to sit at the back. Those two looked extremely proud and happy, Hermione knew that they were probably behind Lockhart's disappearance. The worst part was she couldn't question them about it, she had wondered where everything had gone so wrong? When she entered the wizarding world she learnt all about Harry Potter, he was supposed to be a kind and heroic boy who she could befriend and use to elevate her status amongst the purebloods and make herself important, sadly he wasn't.

He was supposed to have been raised by muggles like her and know nothing about the wizarding world, Hermione studied for hours to make sure she knew more than him so he would inevitably come to her for help. He wasn't supposed to be smarter than her, but he was amongst multiple other things. He was rude, sarcastic, cocky, and confident and made no effort in gaining friends. He had befriended the twins and Neville, but when it came to girls it was clear despite how nice he pretended to be that in his mind you were either Ginny or you weren't worth knowing. But maybe that could be Hermione's way in, befriend Ginny or stop Harry from liking her. The first option was probably the best, it's easier and less risky than the second which could have disastrous consequences.

Ron also shot the occasional glance at Potter, not only did the rich prat ignore his attempts to befriend him; he also got him into trouble. Potter was always walking around like he was too good for everyone else, in his first year he wouldn't be friends with him but had no problem befriending the twins and even Neville bloody Longbottom. Potter always looked at him as if he was dirt on his shoe, and what is up with his obsession over Ginny? She's not even that interesting but she's the only one he seems remotely interested in talking too among the second years, and on the very odd occasion when she's not with him he's either looking for her, talking to the twins or talking to Longbottom.

Apparently nobody else is good enough for him, even in the dorm room he never says more than hello or goodbye to Dean or Seamus. At the end of the year he got him in trouble with some rubbish about wanting to be in Slytherin or liking Dad better. The last part was true once the shouting had started, now whenever Ron sees him he's constantly plotting something with the twins or holding hands with Ginny and the worst part is he gets away with it and nobody can do anything. He thinks he's such hot stuff just because he's rich, famous, the best in class and in quidditch he acts like he's the best seeker in the world. Maybe Ginny would leave him if Ron could convince her he isn't all that.

Draco was deep in thought, could Potter really be as strong as Snape says he is. He does do everything with ease, Draco still remembers his jump at the sorting and everyone heard the story about how he got past those traps and dealt with that possessed Professor. Maybe there's some truth to it, Draco snuck a look and saw Harry leaning back and looking at the Weaslet, Potter was laughing but he also looked like a devoted dog with how much he was smiling.

No way Potter was as strong as Snape said, everyone knows Potter's the teachers favourite, they probably just said that to keep him happy because he was too much of a wimp to do something. No way Potter was that strong, nobody could be more powerful than the dark lord, nobody! Especially not a twelve year old arrogant half-blood who lets an eleven year old blood traitor tell him what to do, Malfoy would probably have to check at some point. His father would definitely like to know what Potter could do, and if he embarrasses Potter than that's just a bonus.

With one minute left for the class, the students got up and got ready to leave. Harry and Ginny were out like a bullet from a shotgun, apparently Professor McGonagall wanted to see them. They had hoped that if things go quickly then they could send a letter to Sirius and start planning their next prank. They entered the class room to find it void of all life, except for the stern witch that was sitting at the desk who was grumbling until the two came in. Her thin lips transformed into a smile when the two stopped at her desk

"I can assume that none of the students have bothered you" After receiving two confirmative nods she continued "I'm afraid I have good news, bad news and additional bad news. The good news is the school is forming a duelling club, the bad news is it's run by Lockhart and the additional bad news is you have to attend Mr Potter"

"What? Why?"

"Something to do with a lack of effort in his class" McGonagall waited for his reply, if Potter wasn't putting in effort then it was probably for a good reason

"I'm sorry Professor but in your classes you at least attempt to teach us something relevant to the subject. Lockhart has us do quizzes on him, asking questions like what he uses in his hair. Regrettably I know the answers from reading his book but that is one test I don't care if I pass, the closest thing he ever did to teaching us was in our first lesson when he brought in those pixies and they started wrecking the class. At that point he ran and left me, Gin, Hermione and Ron to deal with them"

"And what did you do?" McGonagall asked

"We just copied our teacher and left the room" Ginny smiled innocently "we figured that if Hermione and Ron were such good students then they could deal with it, if not then the 'brilliant' Professor could help them."

"Yeah" Harry smiled "all our lessons from then were just acting out things from his books, which I am convinced he never did in the first place, so he's basically making me go because I refused to play a werewolf in front of the class"

"I'll have to talk to Dumbledore about this" McGonagall frowned "however until I can take action I am afraid you will have to participate in it tomorrow and I can only assume that means Miss Weasley will also participate, there will be a notice up in the common rooms. Fortunately for you Professor Snape will assist the duelling club tomorrow and he shall do his best to keep you out of trouble. Good luck Potter and Miss Weasley and please try not to injure anybody" The look the two shared was not missed.

"We'll try" Ginny spoke in a sweet voice before the two left

'I'll probably have to tell Madam Pomfrey to expect company' McGonagall thought 'Maybe she could make some money and bet which students end up there, her money was on Malfoy, Ronald and Miss Granger. They were too stupid to stay away for too long.'


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Chamber of secrets

Harry and Ginny made their way to the duelling club, everyone's reactions were predictable. Most stayed away from the two hoping they don't get paired with them, some hoped that they could see what the two were capable of and others (mainly Ron and Draco) thought they could use this opportunity to improve their own standings by beating the two. Hermione looked rather hopeful; perhaps if things went well then she could impress both Harry and Lockhart.

"Good evening" Lockhart appeared on the duelling platform shortly followed by Snape "how marvellous to see you all! I am here to instruct you all on how to properly duel; today I will be assisted by Professor Snape, don't worry. You'll still have your potions master when I'm threw with him"

"Two sickles on Snape beating Lockhart with one spell" Ginny whispered as the two went to opposite ends of the

"I know I'd lose that bet but why not? I'll humour you"

The match went exactly how Ginny predicted; one disarming curse and Lockhart had been thrown across the room. A few giggles, laughs and exchanged money followed before Lockhart go to his feet. Naturally he brushed it off and claimed he let Snape do it. The group were all split into pairs and told to practise disarming curses, Harry and Ginny naturally paired up together.

Ginny considered herself fortunate that Harry had such good control, she was under no disillusion about how strong he was. She knew that if he put the slightest bit of effort into his spells then she would be flying into a wall. Snape even applauded him on his control when he walked by, soon everyone had stopped and was told to gather around again.

"Alright guys" Lockhart called "today we'll end by having two demonstrations, one pair of girls and one pair of boys. Let's start with the girls; does anyone want to participate in the demonstration?"

"I will" Hermione raised her hand and stepped on to the platform

"Good girl" Lockhart smiled "anyone you want to do it with?"

"How about.." Hermione stopped as if to think about it "Ginny" Harry rolled his eyes, he couldn't help but wonder what was going through that girls head.

Fortunately for him the only way Ginny was weak was how she looked and that's only when she doesn't look angry. Harry knew people underestimated her because she was small, in his opinion it made it all the more hilarious when she proved them wrong. Ginny took her spot on the platform while Hermione took her own.

"Remember" Lockhart said just before the duel began "winner is whoever disarms the other one first, begin"

"Expelliarmus" Hermione roared as a red light rushed towards Ginny, Ginny easily dodged. Harry had drilled dodging into her mind and body many times; it was second nature to her by this point. Hermione looked absolutely stunned by the fact her spell missed, she had practised it so much and put in far more effort than she saw Ginny and Harry putting in.

"Expelliarmus" Ginny shouted before Hermione could let off a spell, she managed to connect and Hermione flew across the platform whilst her wand flipped in the air and landed in her hand. Ginny was amazed, she'd never managed to do that when she did the spell on Harry, she always found it weird that despite that he insisted that her spell was perfect.

At the point she realised that the only reason it didn't work on Harry was because….he was Harry. Hermione had to be helped up by Lockhart and was congratulated for her effort; everyone could tell she was disappointed with the results and it was obvious she hurt her arm when she landed. As Ginny walked off she received a wink from Snape and a congratulatory hug and kiss on the cheek from Harry. Next came the turn of the boys.

"Now" Lockhart rubbed his hands together "for the boys, Harry, why don't you come up?" Harry got on the platform, not before mumbling some inventive curses under his breath, he knew he didn't have a viable excuse to refuse so he decided to get it other with. "Now who is Harry going to compete against?"

"Me!" Two hands went up at the same time, everyone found that Draco and Ronald had both put their hands up.

"You?" Ronald spoke first "no way, I'm duelling him"

"Please Weasley" Malfoy sneered "the only thing you have less than money is skill, your own sister would beat you"

"She would and you forgot intelligence" Harry added, earning a few laughs.

"Shut up" Ron stood on the platform, unfortunately for him Malfoy got up on the same time

"Are you deaf?" Malfoy yelled "I said I'm duelling him"

"Why do you want to duel him?" Ron demanded

"Oh I know" Harry interrupted "Malfoys a little bit upset because his house elf left him to work for me" There were quite a few snickers and chuckles from the crowd "Don't worry Malfoy" Harry continued "you'll make a real friend someday". Harry earned a few more laughs and even the odd clap

"Mr Potter" Snape interrupted despite really not wanting to do so "as amusing as this is, verbal duelling is a class for another day, now which of these two do you want to face?"

"I don't really have a preference" Harry shrugged "Ginny, what do you think?"

"I don't know Harry, you could probably take them both if you wanted" Ginny spoke with a mischievous grin on her face, Snape raised an eye brow but knew she was right. Perhaps if Potter made a show then the others would back off.

"Very well" Snape agreed "Potter, you will face the pair of them together" Snape walked off the platform, after ignoring the protests from Lockhart, who rather wisely also got off.

Once the duel began, the pair both shot a disarming curse at Harry, who dodged both of them with ease. The pair tried that for a while, like Harry cared, but he was getting rather bored. He was amazed that him simply dodging every attack still kept the audience interested. Eventually Ron began fatiguing so harry disarmed him to put him out of his misery, unfortunately Harry put a bit too much effort into it and Ron landed on his face before Snape sent him away with a broken nose. It was at that point when Malfoy tried to experiment with his curses.

He started with a few Stupefys but eventually stopped when Harry stopped dodging and decided to just bat them away with his wand. He recalled a spell his father had taught him.

"Serpensortia" He roared and a snake appeared from his wand, Harry wanted to order it to strangle Malfoy but decided it'd be best if he keeps his Parslemouth ability a secret for now. He banished the snake with ease, he was getting bored so he disarmed Malfoy. He was preparing to leave when he heard his name called

"Well done Potter" Malfoy drawled "you've done so good, maybe your little tart will pet you head for you?"

Because Harrys back was facing Malfoy, Draco never saw the furious look that appeared on Harry's face. Ginny did, but before she could say anything Harry spun around and aimed his want at Draco. Without a word a fireball shot from the want at Draco, it narrowly missed but did manage to make Draco drop to the floor when his hair caught fire. Snape quickly put it out before he noticed the massive scorch mark on the wall behind him.

The students and both Professors were stunned, not only did Harry toy with Ron and Draco before beating them, he also wordlessly cast a spell that was more powerful than what most seventh years could manage. Ginny got on the platform tried to calm down Harry who was still pointing his wand at Malfoy, it took a while but she had managed to get him to lower his wand.

Snape along with everyone else felt rather relieved thanks to the leash that was Ginny Weasley, after dismissing everyone Ginny took Harry away. Soon Snape found himself meeting with the other head of houses and retelling what happened. Fortunately the headmaster was away on business so they could hopefully deal with it before he gets back. The heads met up in McGonagall's office when Snape retold the events of what happened.

'I knew I should of bet money on those idiots landing in the hospital wing' McGonagall thought when she saw Sprout sliding Flitwick a few sickles.

"Ignoring his extraordinary power" Snape continued "I was very curious to see the look on his face, I've seen that look before, the last person I saw with that look was the dark lord himself. It was pure rage" They were interrupted by a knock on the door, they were surprised to see Ginny Weasley enter by herself, she closed the door and walked forward.

"Sorry to interrupt Professors but I figured I should probably tell you what happened today"

"Professor Snape has already told us what happened" Flitwick spoke softly

"I know" Ginny took a breath "but I know you're all probably wondering what happened to Harry when he got angry."

"The thought had crossed our minds" McGonagall admitted "while you're here, where is Mr Potter?"

"Harry's gone to the quidditch pitch to cool off for a bit" Ginny explained "he said after that he had to go and do something important. He told me I could tell you if I wanted but I want to make it clear that the only reason I'm telling you this is because Harry and I trust you and don't expect anyone else outside of this room to know." After receiving four nods Ginny continued.

"Harry doesn't like to talk about certain things; one of those things is his past. His muggle relatives would beat him up daily, injuring and re-injuring him most of the time. They also made him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs, while his fat whale of a cousin had two whole bedrooms to himself. They gave him whatever clothes his cousin didn't wear anymore and they didn't care if he was injured or not as long as he did his chores" Ginny wiped a tear away before continuing

"All those years left Harry with some anger issues, he had to bottle and hide his anger and it's become a habit for him. Whenever he gets angry he hides it and locks it away"

"You're saying that's why when he does let go the results are massive?" Snape contemplated her words, it makes sense. Potter had to control his emotions, even more so once he had found his magical powers

"Yes" Ginny nodded "Harry calls it his 'dark half', he sort of divided himself into two parts. The regular happy Harry and the angry at the world Harry."

"Like a split personality?" Flitwick asked

"No" Ginny shook her head "Harry is a lot wiser than people give him credit for, he knows that everyone has good and bad parts. He's just more worried about his because he knows how powerful he is, he knows that it's just a part of him he needs to control. He does his very day best, he runs every morning and even writes in his journal to help with his anger. We even spend time each day just talking about how he feels. He tries to stay with me because he knows I'm the only one who can keep him calm." Ginny blushed a little

"Why you?" Sprout asked "not that there's anything wrong with you but do you know why he only ever talks with you, Longbottom and the twins? The only other people I can think that he gets along with are the quidditch team"

"I know why miss" Ginny spoke softly "Harry never played with anyone when he was younger, than all of a sudden he discovers quidditch and they treat him like a king, he likes it because he's actually getting praised for something he thinks his earned. From what I understand the team members treat him like a younger brother, I had convinced Harry to give the twins a chance. Because they also treat him like a brother, and the fact that they're nice to him really helps.

Harry chose Neville because he thought that Neville was genuinely nice and trust worthy even though he's very shy. When I asked Harry why he liked me after my brother told him he could have any girl in the school he told me it was because he trusted me. Harry said that his past had given him an ability to know when people are being honest with him." Ginny then told them Harrys story about his first friends being spiders and how that girl had tricked him. The teachers were half divided between sympathy for harry and the desire to rip Dumbledore's beard off of his face.

"All I'm asking is you don't judge Harry" Ginny concluded "after all he's been through I think we should be fortunate he hasn't completely isolated himself. Please just treat him like you normally do, Harry trusts you, if you break it then you won't be able to fix it" With that Ginny left.

Harry after flying around for a bit had decided to do something he had been putting off long enough, it's about time he said hello to Salazar's Basilisk, if Harry remembered right its name was Ellie. Harry had promised Salazar that he would check on her and Harry figured he'd do it now while everyone had left him alone and he didn't have to worry about Ginny coming down with him.

Once he got into the chamber he and prepared his wand, he had recorded the sound of a rooster. He trusted Salazar when he said she wouldn't harm him and her but he decided not to take the chance, fortunately for him a basilisks gaze couldn't harm him, unfortunately the massive teeth could. Harry called the basilisk and out of the statue slithered a massive green sixty foot snake.

"Hello Ellie" Harry greeted the snake in parsletounge.

"You know my name?" Ellie was pleasantly surprised, the last person she had to listen to simply referred to her as 'it', 'basilisk' or 'giant snake'.

"My name is Harry potter" Harry introduced himself "I'm the heir to Merlin and all four founders including Salazar, he asked me to bond you to me so nobody else can control you."

"Did he?" Ellie flicked out her massive tongue

"Yes but I won't do it unless you want me to, I won't force you to do so"

"Really?" Ellie asked, failing to mask her surprise, not only was this boy Salazar's heir but he also asked her opinion "What would you say if I refused?"

"Shame" Harry shrugged "I wouldn't force you and as long as you stayed here and didn't harm anyone then I wouldn't complain"

"Really?" Ellie would have raised an eyebrow if she had one "what if I attacked you?"

"Salazar said you could be trusted and I believed him, however I did record some roosters with my wand, just in case you had gotten any funny ideas" Harry then became one of the very few people who ever saw a basilisk laugh, admittedly to anyone else it was just very fast hissing and frantic head movement.

Ellie had agreed and Harry promised that he would occasionally drop by and bring some foot with her, he'd instruct his elves to bring some meat as long as she promised to close her eyes when she they came.

Later on Harry had met up with Ginny and told her about the basilisk, but he left out how he knew about it. Both of them knew that Harry kept secrets from her, normally Ginny would pester someone over something like this but she knew that Harry told her everything. If he didn't tell her now then she'd likely know later, all she had to do was be patient. If Harry didn't want to tell her than she'd have to trust that he had a good reason.

After the duelling club disaster Lockhart could no longer make Harry attend, he had tried to but the other students seemed less than willing to participate if Harry was there. It was almost like they worried about getting hurt. Hermione and Ron got out of the hospital wing the next day, sadly because it was duel club they broke no rules by interacting with Harry and Ginny. Draco Malfoy was not so lucky, his burns were healed but he had to wait for his hair to grow back naturally which meant he had to spend the remainder of the year with no hair on the top of his head and a well-deserved fear or Harry. To make matters worse Snape took away fifty points and gave him detention for the rest of the year.

Eventually everything calmed down; people were still a bit cautious about Harry but were no longer acting like he was the next dark lord. Harry at that point decided that though pranking Lockhart is what gave his year life, he had outstayed his welcome. So one day Snape and Harry decided to work on some truth serum, somehow it ended up in Lockhart's drink, not that either of them knew anything about how that happened. And by coincidence, it happened the exact same day that a ministry official and reporter visited, Lockhart confessed to obliviating people and taking credit for their findings.

Eventually a couple of aurors came to take him away, however not before four more pranks activated. The aurors ended up dragging a wart covered, green haired Lockhart whose mouth was stuck smiling and revealed teeth that were blacker than coal. Harry and Snape were incredibly smug and pleased with themselves, fortunately Ginny and the other head of houses were the only ones who noticed.

On the train ride back Ron ignored the two again, Malfoy didn't show up either, he just needed Hermione to stay away and everything would be perfect. Alas, it was not meant to be.

"Harry" Hermione spoke slowly "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for not believing you about Lockhart" she bit her lip, waiting for a response

"Okay" Harry spoke in a neutral tone

"And I was rather hoping that we can forgive and forget, I admit that I should have listened to you about Lockhart. And Ginny I'm sorry for how I've been treating you, I was hoping you and me could make up. It'd be nice to have a friend, especially one who's a girl. I'll see you two later" Hermione walked off, no sooner than she had harry put up some locking and privacy charms.

"What did your instincts say about her?" Ginny asked

"Don't trust her" Harry replied "she's admitted one mistake she's made and only after everybody had to admit it, and that's the only thing she's apologised for. And as someone who knows what it's like not having friends, I can whole heartedly say she's lying"

"Oh I know" Ginny agreed "I've seen her hanging out with Lavender and the Patil twins"

"Then she tries to befriend you despite the fact that she seemed more interested in getting on my good side, then she leaves with that friend comment so we're left stuck thinking about it"

"I see what you mean" Ginny murmured in agreement

"Oh yeah I've forgot to tell you, I looked into our marriage contract and I managed to get a copy. Apparently I was wrong, your family did make a stipulation saying they'd get at least half of my money if I die"

"That's not good" Ginny sighed

"No but I have another option" Harry smiled

"What?"

"I think you and me can soul bond"

"You mean like in those fairy tales" Ginny raised an eyebrow

"Soul bonds are real" Harry assured her "it's just they're so rare that people think they're fake. I've looked up soul bonds, both participants need to be at least thirteen because that was the age of marriage a while back, meaning we could do one by our fourth year"

"Yeah but why would we? No offense but what does this have to do with the contract?"

"None taken" Harry replied "soul bonds do a few things. The first is increase the love the couple already possesses, the second is give them specific abilities like detecting each other's emotions, the ability to read each other's thoughts and the ability to teleport to wherever the soul mate is. It also acts as a legally binding marriage contract that would make us officially of age" Ginny's eyes widened

"The current contract is supposed to be carried out once we're of age, however one clause allowed it to be cancelled if the girl who in this case is you decides to break the contract. They raised you on stories about me so you'd never want that, but they kept their options open in case someone richer came along or they changed their mind"

"I can't believe them" Ginny voice was covered in disgust

"Sorry to tell you this, I know it upsets you but you need to know. If we soul bond then you've broken the contract by not fulfilling it and marrying me sooner than you were supposed to. You could cancel it anytime you want but I'd recommend waiting for us to soul bond first, that way your mum can't say anything because we'll be of age and capable of doing two things amongst others. That's do magic whenever we want and live wherever we want"

"You've got somewhere to live for us?" Ginny's eyes glazed with excitement

"Yeah but I'll tell you about it after this summer once your occlumency shields are strong enough to keep out Dumbledore"

"Fine" Ginny grumbled "but as for this whole soul bond business, count me in."

"You sure?" Harry asked, knowing the answer

"Hell yeah!" Ginny shouted "it's too late to back out now Potter, you're stuck with me"

Soon the train stopped and the two got out when they were met by the Weasley family, Mrs Weasley congratulated them on their relationship before reminding them they were too young to do certain things and engaging in another futile attempt to find out where Harry lived. Harry said goodbye and left with the promise of visiting over the summer. He arrived home and after sending a letter to Sirius he laid down in bed.

"I'm going to marry that girl, I bet you'd like her. Good night mum, goodnight dad" Harry whispered before falling asleep


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 –Getting ready for the third year

The Marauders sat deep in thought as the screen paused, each waiting to see who will talk first.

"Should we discuss the negative parts of what we just saw then work on the positives?" Lilly suggested

"Fine" Sirius agreed "let's talk about how I'm going to kill Wormtail"

"Not if I beat you to it" Remus growled

"Guys let's forget Wormtail for now" James spoke slowly "we can't do much about him yet, let's focus on Harry"

"Fine" Sirius mumbled before continuing "I'm just glad I got to spend time with him, the kid got me out of Azkaban. He might just be the best thing ever to have happened to me, he's brilliant, don't know how he your son James" James chuckled at the last part

"He's relationship with Ginny also seems to be improving" Remus noted "I can't believe they're actually planning to soul bond"

"Maybe we should do it as well Lil" James joked "but I'm amazed at how protective he is of her. I mean he nearly killed that blonde git when he insulted, and the fact that he so powerful is just mind boggling"

"I know" Lilly added "at least we don't have to worry about his safety. On a happier note, even I'm proud of how he dealt with Lockhart"

Oh yeah" Sirius burst into laughs again "so many bloody beautiful pranks"

"The truth serum was also a stroke of genius" Remus commented "it even made the Granger girl admit he was an idiot"

"The girl is giving witches like me a bad name" Lilly looked furious "I don't know what she's planning with my son but I hope she doesn't succeed" The group continued watching

Harry had spent the summer training both magically and physically, he had started adding push ups, sit ups, squats and pull ups amongst other things into his workout. Before he would just run but he decided that he should look his best and if it helps him then it's a bonus. Harry also spent some time with Sirius, who eventually introduced him to Remus Lupin.

Remus felt very relieved when Harry told him he didn't care if he was a werewolf, the three became very close when they would tell him stories about their school year or when Harry told them about his own. Either way the three ended up in stitches, Remus then told him how Dumbledore convinced him to be the new defence against the dark arts professor, Harry and he discussed the fact that the position was cursed. Harry had all of Voldermorts memories up until the point when he had tried to kill Harry as a baby, but he didn't tell Remus that. Eventually the two agreed that if Remus simply changed the class name to defence class then it should be fine.

Harry had also visited the Burrow occasionally; he knew Mrs Weasley would no longer try to spike his food because he had managed to convince her of his loyalty to the light side. Admittedly she was a great cook, Harry had spent some time with the twins and Ginny remembering old pranks or discussing new ones. He and Ginny also discussed the soul bond in great detail and improved her mind barriers, she was good but Dumbledore could still get in if he put in a lot of effort.

Ron naturally challenged Harry to a game of chess as soon as he entered the house, Mr Weasley was at work while Mrs Weasley was in the kitchen whilst everyone else was in the living room. Harry and Ron battled in their chess game, the twins and Ginny were routing for Harry, even Percy was routing for him. They all knew how smug Ron was when he won at chess, they were glad someone was able to put him in his place.

"Checkmate" Harry said after winning his second game in a row, he noticed George sliding some money over to Fred after he won

"How do you do that?" Ron spoke with disbelief

"Simple, I picked the pieces up with my hand then I moved them to where I wanted them to go"

"Don't play dumb" Ron roared

"Yes Harry you don't need to act like Ron" Ginny commented, causing the twins to laugh and Harry awarding her with a quick kiss. Ron looked away and looked at the twins

"Are you two seriously okay with that?!" Ron couldn't believe their lack of reactions

"Well Ronnikins" Fred started

"As far as we see it" George continued

"The love birds"

"are quite happy, so"

"we won't get involved, we trust Harry"

"Not to hurt our sister"

"plus we couldn't do anything even if he did"

"I love you two too" Harry grinned

"But she's too young to date" Ron argued, looking around for Percy to back him up, however Percy had left when the twin talk started

"Ron you'd be saying that when she's twenty" George replied

"Yeah" Fred agreed "Ginny can do whatever she wants"

"And as long as she's happy"

"We don't see what the problem is"

"Mum and dad approve"

"So does Charlie, though we expect that's all those years working with dragons has taught him"

"When to back off, Percy's fine with it"

"Probably because mum is"

"Bill also approves" Ron huffed and walked off, he knew there was no way he could win this argument.

"Thanks guys, that means a lot" Ginny smiled

"Not a problem" Fred smiled

"Anything for our favourite sister"

"She's your only sister" Harry reminded them

"That just makes choosing easier" The twins replied, later everyone got ready and flooed to Diagon alley to get the supplies for the next year at Hogwarts. They met Sirius over there, it was the first time the Weasleys had met Sirius. Percy was formal as always, Molly and Ron were a bit nervous; the former hid it much better. The twins were fan boying over meeting the legendary Marauder Padfoot, Ginny and Sirius loved each other.

They wanted to know each other due to their mutual love of Harry, but soon they also began to really like each other. Ginny thought that Sirius was a fun but laid back guy, he joked a lot but he was also very nice. Sirius had improved a lot since he left Azkaban, he was nowhere as near as thin as before. His clothes were stylish, he looked cool yet he wasn't trying to dress like a younger man or dress to formal. He wore the exact perfect match of formal and casual.

Sirius had similar feelings for Ginny, when he first saw her he initially teased Harry with jokes about Potters and red heads but after spending time with her he became quite fond of her. She was funny, smart, could take a joke and she made Harry happy. That was all Sirius needed to approve of her, she was prime Marauder material and made Harry happy. In fact Sirus found himself feeling quite protective of her; if this girl made his godson happy then he would do everything in his power to keep the two together.

After all the shopping was done, Sirius helped the two sneak away while he and the twins would keep everyone busy. Harry and Ginny walked hand in hand down Diagon Alley, they brought the occasional snack or two but mostly just enjoyed others company. Ginny was having a great time, she enjoyed Harry's new look. He had white trainers, blue jeans, a grey shirt and a black leather jacket. When asked about his look he simply said he was experimenting, she also liked the fact that his hair was messier than ever.

The two had just left the broom store after Harry had ordered some broom maintenance equipment and told the shop keeper one of his elves would pick it up later. As they walked, still hand in hand, Harry's 'ill intent' spell started tingling, from what he could guess someone was angry at him, not enough to do anything but he did wonder why. He was brought out of his wondering when he felt someone tap his shoulder, he and Ginny stopped and turned around. In front of them was a man and a woman, judging by their clothes they were muggle.

"Yes, can I help you?" Harry asked politely, the woman had a stern lock on her face while the man looked like he was resisting the urge to punch Harry

"That depends, are you Harry Potter?" The man asked, when Harry nodded he continued "who is she?"

"This would be my girlfriend" Harry answered, wondering where this was going

"So you admit it?!" The man eyed Ginny and Harry "you're cheating on my daughter with this tart?" Harry's eyes narrowed, though these two were muggles, they could sense the power that Harry was exhibiting. Ginny quickly whispered words in his ear and calmed him down before anyone noticed

"Thanks Gin" Harry spoke before turning to the muggles who both taken a step back "I apologise for that, you're clearly emotional so I'll forgive you for insulting my girlfriend, but I won't if you do it again. Now could you politely tell me what the problem is? You mentioned something about your daughter"

"We just want to know why your cheating on her" The woman plucked up the courage to speak

"I don't think I am since I've never had a girlfriend or even gone on a date with someone other than this beautiful red head here. I make it perfectly clear to any girls that show interest that I'm only interested in Ginny, who is your daughter anyway?"

"My name is Jane Granger and this is my husband" The woman responded "our daughter is Hermione" she and her husband were surprised when the two started giggling and actually began holding the other up, they were even more surprised when they saw the girl hand over some money to the boy

"We bet over whether or not she wanted to be my girlfriend" Harry explained upon seeing their confused faces "I feel like you two should know, I've never liked Hermione and I spent the last two years trying to avoid her"

"It's true" Ginny added before the couple could interrupt "in class Hermione hates us because we do better than her, she's constantly trying to force Harry to do what she wants him to do even though he's made it clear he wants her to leave us alone. She even tried to force him to invite her to her house and she keeps ranting to him about his house elves"

"Well you shouldn't force those poor creatures to work without pay" Mr Granger argued

"Is that what she told you?" Harry spoke with a knowing smile, after they nodded he continued "did she forget to mention the fact that they all, well except for one exception, refused pay. I had to force them to take days off, they love working. I've offered them all pay and freedom and they chose to refuse it."

"Harry treats his elves like family" Ginny added "he told them they could buy anything they needed with money from his account and all of his elves are always going on about how they love working for him. Harry even helps them out sometimes. Besides everyone knows that house elves love working, they live to work. If an elf doesn't have a master than they're magic gets weaker and their life span shortens and some even commit suicide if they can't find work, I know Hermione knows because the teachers told her at least twice when she brought it up" The Grangers stood in shock, their daughter never told them that. Harry saw their shock and took pity on them.

"Do you mind if I have a quick summary of what you're daughter has said about me?" Harry spoke in a serious tone "you tell me what she said and I'll tell you if it's true or not"

"She said you never study" Mr Granger started

"Well that's not true, me and Gin study for a bit then we go off and relax. I don't know why she complains because me and Ginny are the best in all our classes"

"Hermione said she was the best" Mrs Granger replied

"Sorry but she isn't" Ginny cut in "me and Harry have always been the best, she's above average in theory but below average in the practical portion. You can ask Professor McGonagall if you don't believe us." The Grangers jaws dropped, their daughter had been lying to them. They took a moment before continuing

"She says you're her best friend" Mrs Granger spoke this time

"Nope" Harry simply replied "we're not even friends, I've made it perfectly clear to her that I don't want to spend time with her but she kept following and bothering me. It got to the point where the teachers had to threaten her with detention to keep her away" The disappointed looks on their faces where not missed

"Please tell me you're joking" Mr Granger spoke with a pleading voice

"I swear on my magic that I'm telling you the truth, I was never Hermione's friend"

"I think I know why she does it" Ginny interjected "Hermione is muggle-born, that's not exactly a bad thing but certain people discriminate against them. You know Harry is famous amongst the Wizarding population?" They nodded

"Well if she got close to him than he could help her out because a lot of people would be willing to look over her heritage if she was best friends with the boy-who-lived."

"You're saying my daughter wants to use his fame to benefit herself?" Mr Granger asked, unable to comprehend the very thought

"Yes" Ginny nodded "Harry is not the first person she met at Hogwarts, I know she at least met a boy named Neville before and he's not her friend so that eliminates two excuses for her to talk to him. She'd probably argue that Harry needs her brains even though he's top of every class he takes in both theory and practical, she might also say something along the lines of she makes him work. Which is untrue as Harry refuses to let her tell him what to do, also if she has a problem with people not working than how come she only ever takes it out on Harry?

Harrys always got all of his homework in on time, you can ask the teachers how well he does and Harry even takes time to help other students including me. Yet my brother is the complete opposite, his homework's nearly always late and he's one of, if not the worst in class and he never studies. So with that information, how come she only ever has a go at Harry when he decides he doesn't want to work at that particular moment in time?" The Grangers had no response

"One more thing" Harry spoke, he felt sorry for ruining their image of their daughter but Hermione had brought it on herself "she could also and has argued that she's the only one who can and will challenge me to be better, that's utter hogwash. As we've stated multiple times I'm far better than her in class, and she's gotten more detentions in her first year than me and Ginny have gotten in our first and second. Mostly because we had none"

"But she told us she's never had a detention" Mr and Mrs Granger lit up in fury

"She also told you I'm her boyfriend, both lies. If you need more evidence than you can ask the teachers but I promise on my life and my magic that what I've told you is one hundred per cent true, at least apart from why she does it. We can only guess but that is why we believe she has done it. If you like I can take a proper wizards oath to prove I'm telling the truth"

"What's that?" Mrs Granger asked

"It's sort of like a promise" Ginny explained "Harry would say the same things under a magical oath and promise to tell the truth, if he breaks the oath then he will actually lose his magic. Which for someone like Harry is an especially bad thing considering all the people that want to take his place as king of the Jungle, which in this case is Hogwarts."

"Err...no" Mr Granger politely refused "thanks for the offer but we'll take your word for it"

"Okay but if you ever doubt what we say then you can always send a letter to the teachers" Harry responded "I'd recommend McGonagall, she's tough but fair"

"Thank you" Mrs Granger smiled for the first time since meeting Harry.

"I'm also sorry for how rude I was" Mr Granger sheepishly added.

"Don't worry about it" Harry insisted and the four talked for a few minutes about Hogwarts and the classes before a certain book worm popped up

"Mum, Dad can I visit the pet store?" She asked before noticing Harry, the fright that etched into her face did not go unnoticed "what were you talking about?" Hermione asked the four while failing to maintain a calm look

"Well Hermione" Harry couldn't help but smirk at her predicament "I was hoping to spend the time with my girlfriend but because you weren't here I had to settle with Ginny" Harry took great delight at her now pale face

"Yeah, I was rather disappointed to know Harry was taken" Ginny played along "I always thought that he was my boyfriend and not yours, I don't know why. Probably the fact that he kept spending time with me, holds my hand, kisses me, never talks with any other girls for more than he had to do so and the fact that he avoided you so much that the teachers actually had to stop you from following him."

"We've had a very enlightening conversation with Harry and Ginny here" Mrs Granger spoke in an ice cold voice

"And to answer your question" Mr Granger spoke in a calm but furious voice that would make even Malfoy tremble "no we're not going to the pet shop, you've got your supplies and we're going straight home. I don't want to hear another word from you until we get home, is that understood?" Hermione nodded, she ducked her head down, hoping the ground would swallow her whole.

Her entire plan had gone wrong and she hadn't even gone past the first stage, she was supposed to tell her parents about Harry to make them like him. Then she would have worn him down over the year until he agreed to let her be his girlfriend. This one meeting ruined that plan, hopefully she'd still be able to salvage something with Harry.

Harry and Ginny said their goodbyes and departed and they slowly departed, soon they met up with Sirius and the Weasleys. They told Sirius what happened when he was alone then told the twins later, all three were angry until they heard how she got in trouble. That made them feel better, but they were still angry.

The twins knew that Ginny had always wanted to meet Harry Potter when she was little, they also know that Harry's made not just theirs but Ginny's life a ton better. Ginny was at her happiest when she was with Harry and vice versa, they saw Harry as an honorary brother and they'd be bad brothers if they let their relationship get torn apart by one stubborn girl. Ginny talked them down from finding the girl and shoving her head in a bin, but she had only managed to reduce them to non-lasting pranks throughout all of the school year.

Sirius had a similar reaction, this girl who Harry and Ginny told him about, was trying to stand in the way of his godsons happiness! Harry and Ginny told him all about how she was during their stories; Sirius would be dammed if he was going to let her get in the way. James and Lilly would be so disappointed if he let that happen, the very idea made him uneasy and that was nothing compared to what he was thinking about when his thoughts returned to Harry. He had already failed the poor boy by missing all those years in his life, but now Harry was happy and found a girl that Sirius couldn't dislike even if he tried.

Hell, even Severus and McGonagall and the rest of the heads of houses approved from what Sirus had heard, Sirius would be perfectly fine being single all his life if that meant those two got together. He'd babysit their future children if he had to! He was fond and felt protective of Ginny, and even more so with Harry. Harry had to actually stop him from finding her and getting sent to Azkaban again, the two compromised when Harry allowed Sirius to send a letter to McGonagall and help the twins plan some pranks. Harry and Ginny knew that that was the best they'd get.

On the train ride to Hogwarts, Harry and Ginny found a compartment but the twins insisted in staying with them in case anyone tried anything. It turns out they didn't need to, this was the first time that they had gone an entire train ride without someone they disliked annoying them. Neville asked to sit with them and they let him, the five played exploding snap and experimented with new sweets and chocolates.

At the great hall the five sat together, the quidditch team chasers joined them. The twins had filled them in on what Hermione had done, naturally the girls were furious. They knew Oliver would be too, not only was Harry the best seeker the Gryffindor team ever had but he was also the little brother the team never knew they wanted. He was also kind enough to be willing to wait for the other players to play for a bit before he went for the snitch, he could always get it immediately but they knew he held back so the others could enjoy the game. It was common knowledge that Harry practically worshipped the ground Ginny walked on, Ginny was also a great help. She was kind; encouraged the team to do their best and even helped the girls plan chaser formations, they even helped her practise so she can join the team when she was older.

Save from hexing Hermione the best thing they could do is spread the word around, maybe if they did this than no one would try it again and Hermione could take a hint. Obviously they asked Harry and Ginny if they could do so, they agreed as long as the girls promised not to say anything that wasn't true.

Harry and Ginny knew that the house heads knew all about it, they looked over the table and all saw them looking at Hermione with disgust and in Snapes case hate. Potter and Ginny were their best students but they also knew that if she ruined their relationship then Potter could be very hazardous to the people in the castle, not to mention the castle itself. Snape still remembers the fireball incident from duelling club, he was amazed when he found out that Potter put no effort into it. They wanted to punish Granger but unfortunately she did not break any school rules, to some she just told her parents a lie but they knew she was hoping it would soon become a truth. Not bloody likely if they had a say in it.

Dumbledore sat down after making the welcoming speech, as the students started eating he noticed that Miss Granger looked quite upset and a number of students were glaring at each other. Probably something stupid he thought, he looked over to see Harry and Ginny eating. This caused Dumbledore to have mixed feelings.

Harry was supposed to be a shy and nervous boy who would see him as a grand wizard and cling to his every word. Instead he's confident, the best in class and never talks to anyone other than his closest friends. He doesn't look up to him either; he treats him as if he was just another student. The boy took his Phoenix, made all the teachers (even Snape) like him and Dumbledore was positive he had something to do with Lockhart getting fired. Not that the last part bothered him, but the fact that Harry would do something like that led Dumbledore to worry, Potter was powerful. That's common knowledge; he could easily be the next dark lord.

Then his eyes landed on Ginny and relief fell over him, the Weasleys were big supporters of the light. Everyone knew that Ginny was the only one that could tell Harry what to do, she'd keep Harry firmly planted on the light side. That marriage contract he had tricked the Potters into signing was a pure stroke of genius on his part, yes, she'd keep him away from the dark side and their dark magic.

"Hey Ginny" Harry whispered "when we get the chance let's practise throwing off the imperious curse again"

"Okay" Ginny nodded as she continued eating. The couple held hands and continued eating, ignoring the stares they were getting from the Ravenclaw table or more specifically a girl known as Cho Chang and a boy known as Micheal Corner.

Cho was looking at the couple while casually eating. She'd thought for a while and realised Harry was probably the best bet for her. All of her previous boyfriends weren't rich or romantic enough for her, they figured they could get some snogging if they just brought her some roses and chocolates. That wasn't enough for her, she needed someone capable of worshipping her, she needed to feel like a princess. Harry was perfect, he was rich, handsome, famous, powerful and he everyone knew how he worshipped his current girlfriend. Fortunately for her Weasley wasn't anything special, she had second hand things and Cho was much better looking. She was also older, something she knew Harry would appreciate, all she had to do is bat her eyes and occasionally touch his arm. Soon he'd have doubts about Weasley, then she'd capitalise and be the new queen of Hogwarts.

Corner was looking at Ginny and Potter, sure Potter was powerful, even an idiot could see that but that's the only way he was better. Sure he was richer but that doesn't mean Corner was poor, he was good looking but so was he. Yet all the girls fawned over him, none of them would give the other boys any time because they were too busy hoping Potter would notice them. Perhaps he could help those girls by relieving Potter of his girlfriend, it'd be good for Potter to branch out. Famous people have multiple girlfriends, or so he's told. Besides, Weasley wasn't that bad to look at, if Potter got angry then she'd probably be able to hold him back and Micheal would be known as the boy who someone had dumped Potter for.

Cho had eventually got back to eating when she noticed that it was nearly time to leave was so focused she didn't see Harry had snuck a look at her, Harry had noticed she was looking at him. Despite only socialising when he has to, Harry had heard rumours about Cho, apparently none of the other girls liked her apart one or two but the boys loved her. Not like Harry cared but he always took notes of potential threats, whether it's spells that can be used against him, boys looking at Ginny or girls that took an interest in him. Harry wasn't one for rumours but he valued loyalty a lot, he'd give Cho a chance but he'd get rid of her as fast as he could if she made Ginny doubt his loyalty.

"Gin" Harry whispered "did you notice Cho looking at me?"

"Yeah" Ginny whispered back "I'm glad you're not as thick as most boys, they'd either miss it or turn into drooling messes" Harry had to hold back a laugh

"I don't normally care for rumours but you know about the rumours surrounding her"

"You mean how she's high maintenance and when she has someone in her sight than she'll likely end up snogging him all over school"

"Correct, ten points to Gryffindor" Harry joked, the student body than became very curious when ten points were added to Gryffindor's total. "Oops, ten points from Gryffindor"

Harry figured out early that as the heir to Hogwarts he could do things that other students could, including apparate, get into rooms without passwords and give or take away points. He kept these secrets to himself, and never used them, it's not like he needed them with the amount of points he got anyway.

"I just wanted to let you know that 'if' she approaches then I'll give her a chance and if she tries anything I promise I'll…"

"I know Harry" Ginny interrupted "you don't want to judge her like how everyone judges you but you're worried that she'll try something and I'll end up thinking you've cheated on me or something. Don't worry Harry, even if I found you two kissing I know you wouldn't do anything to betray so I'd hear you out before coming to a conclusion. Don't get me wrong, I'd hex her but I'd hear you out at least, and we both know that I'm the only person who knows when you lie"

"Thanks Gin" Harry smiled "you know how important trust is to me and I'd never betray yours"

"Thanks Harry, the same for me" Ginny replied "I'd better tell you know, I've noticed Michael Corner looking at me"

"I know" Harry sighed "I can't blame him you look brilliant"

"Thank you sweetie" Ginny kissed him on his right cheek "here's hoping he stays away, from what i understand Sirius, the twins and the entire quidditch team are now keeping everyone away"

"That is nice" Harry chuckled, he was quite glad that those he considered family would do this for him.

"Yeah and if that doesn't work then you show off a little bit and scare him off"

"Yes dear" Harry kissed her on her cheek, causing two particular Ravenclaws to start plotting.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 –Scared, stupid students

Harry and Ginny woke up earlier than everyone else again, and were the first in breakfast, again. Harry had taken to waking up earlier than Ginny to work out, not that she'd complain, she was too busy eyeing the results. The two were rather glad that no Hogwarts students ever woke up before eight o clock. It gave them the chance to speak together on their own, when they weren't talking with the Professors.

Harry was particularly glad that Lupin and Snape agreed to let the past be the past and move on, things would be really awkward for him if he had to choose between the two. The other professors also seemed to like him, they probably remembered him from his school days. Harry was a bit concerned about Lupin, Sirius told him how he worried about other people because he's a werewolf. It didn't really matter to Harry, personally he thought that if a person transforms once a month then it's not really his business.

As long as no one gets hurt then he couldn't really find a problem with it, but he knew that other people wouldn't see it that way. As long as people like the Dursley's or the Malfoys were around then discrimination would exist. Harry and Ginny had finished breakfast and were currently engaging in a conversation with the Professors (except for Lupin who had to go) where they told them all about the incident regarding Hermione's parents.

"The nerve of that girl" Sprout huffed

"I know" Ginny agreed "she should be glad her parents are muggles, if they were wizards then they'd probably permanently stick her to her bed and keep her from coming to school"

"Oh I can imagine that" Harry revelled at the very thought before doing a perfect imitation of a stressed Hermione "please mother, I need to read! Just one book!" The teachers couldn't help but chuckle.

"Honestly" McGonagall spoke "do you know that girl had actually signed up for every class possible?"

"I know Granger seems to be lacking in the common sense department" Snape commented "but you'd think even she would realise that a lot of these classes happen at the same time"

"I tried telling her that" McGonagall replied "I even asked her why she felt it was necessary to take muggle studies when she was in fact muggle born and raised she responded by saying it'd be fascinating to learn about them from a wizards point of view" Everyone collectively sighed "she even requested a time turner from the headmaster so she could make all of her classes. Naturally he asked for my opinion and I made my views on that particular subject quite clear. I had to practically force the girl to take less lessons"

"Oh I wish I could have seen that" Ginny sighed "me and Harry are taking ancient runes, Arithmancy and we wanted to take care of magical creatures as well but we decided we the other two were more important."

"We did however wonder if we could attend during our free periods" Harry added "we do find it interesting and we'd rather like to support Hagrid"

"As long as your homework is done and your grades stay acceptable or above I don't see a problem" McGonagall smiled.

The two soon headed off to their lessons, they were doing brilliant according to their professors. During a free period they went to Hagrids first class, he was ecstatic they were there. They shared a book with Neville after they stopped it from trying to eat him. Hagrid had decided to show the class Hippogriffs, he brought one out for the class to meet.

"Say hello to Buckbeak" Hagrid beamed with pride, he then went on to explain how they're very proud and easily offended creatures. "Who wants to say hello?"

Naturally Harry volunteered, Ginny called dibs after Harry. Harry bowed and made his way over to Buckbeak once he returned the bow. Buckbeak allowed him to pet him, in fact he rather enjoyed it.

"He likes you Harry" Hagrid commented

"I guess I just have a good relationship with animals" Harry shrugged, he knew it was really because this wasn't the first time he had met a Hippogriff, he had two back home. Hagrid even let Harry ride him, which Harry enjoyed. Flying around Hogwarts on a Hippogriff was a really enjoyable experience, he knew Ginny would love it. Maybe he could convince Hagrid to let the two of them go for a ride one day.

However no sooner than he landed and got off Malfoy decided to break the 'don't insult the dangerous creature who could kill you' rule and the 'don't strut right up to the dangerous creature who could kill you' rule at the exact same time, so naturally the dangerous creature decided to kill him. Harry didn't really care if Malfoy lived or not but if something went bad then Hagrid could lose his job, and Hagrids always been nice to him.

Harry quickly pushed Malfoy out of the way when Buckbeaks massive claw came down, fortunately Malfoy didn't get hurt but unfortunately Harry got hit in the head. Harry staggered back a little and blood poured from his forehead. The class and Hagrid were in shock, they couldn't believe Harry was still standing. Ginny was concerned for Harry, not for his health, she knew he'd be fine. But she didn't want to know what he wanted to do to Malfoy right now, from the look in his eyes he would probably he expelled if he did it and Malfoys death would be broadcasted in the next Daily prophet article.

Hagrid was worried, he knew the Hippogriffs were powerful and one hit like that could kill the average person. So the fact that Harry was standing seemed to have shocked him into being completely unable to move. Buckbeak stepped back, he was ashamed that he had struck such a nice and kind human, he was also quite honestly a bit nervous about the power emitting from said human. Fortunately it didn't seem to be directed at him.

When Malfoy had fallen to the floor after being pushed he managed to see Potter getting hit, a small smile appeared on his face. At least until he saw that Potter was still standing and looked like he was going to kill him, he could have sworn Potter saw his smile. Potters eyes were blazing, that along with the fact that all the power was pouring from him when blood was dripping down his head and the fact that the Hippogriff itself seemed to back away, caused Malfoy to be very afraid.

Malfoy never managed to get a word out before Harry walked over and grabbed him by the shirt before hoisting him up in the air with one arm. The wonders never seemed to cease as Harry was holding Malfoy overhead with one arm, everyone knew Malfoy was afraid of Harry after the incident at duelling club, so now they knew he was probably crapping his pants. They were close, he was pissing them, the liquid running down his leg and to the floor, they would have laughed of they weren't too busy in awe of Harry.

"You had one job" Harry spoke in a cold, low and deadly voice "don't insult the magical half eagle and half horse creature that was capable of killing you. If such a simple thing like that is too hard for you to grasp then I think it's safe to say you were probably dropped on your head as a child, clearly you're not capable of running the house of Malfoy or joining Voldermorts ranks, don't think they'd mind if I killed you" Malfoys eyes widened he was too afraid to say anything

"I always knew that tongue of yours would get you into trouble one day, if you had only learnt to shut up. If you did then maybe you could have made some friends and actually lived past fifty. Though, maybe I should let and you live and just cut it off"

"Harry" Ginny spoke softly, she knew that much like with the Hippogriff there was a way you were supposed to approach Harry when he was angry, quiet voice, no sudden movements and walk cautiously "I get it Harry, trust me, you're not the only one who wants to kill Malfoy. Even most of Slytherin doesn't like him" There were a few murmurs of agreement before Ginny continued

"Harry. Please, put the idiot down. How do you think the teachers would feel if you did it? What about the twins? How do you think I would feel? Please Harry, I promise if you put the idiot down, I'll get you a new one later"

A smile forced its way on to Harry's lips, he knew Ginny was right, there was no point in saving Hagrid from getting in trouble to only get into worse trouble. He dropped Malfoy on the ground, unintentionally making him sit in the puddle he had left. Harry turned to Buckbeak who had bowed his head and was looking quite ashamed, Harry approached him and slowly began petting Buckbeak. He knew Buckbeak would understand that this means forgiveness, Harry didn't need Hagrid to tell him that Hippogriffs were intelligent.

Buckbeak looked very relieved that he was forgiven, and the fact that he was getting stroked was a nice bonus. He even let the red headed human stroke him, she wasn't as good as the first human but was still very enjoyable.

"By the way Harry, we should probably take you to the hospital wing" Ginny suggested

"What? Why?"

"Harry your bleeding" Ginny pointed to the blood

"Am i?" Harry asked before rubbing the spot where the blood was coming from "oh, so I am"

"Ya didn't notice?!" Hagrid couldn't believe it, even he would be hurt from that

"Not really" Harry shrugged

"Alright bye Beaky, we'll be back later" Ginny said before grabbing Harry's hand they were about to walk away when Malfoy stood up. Harry wanted to leave him with one more threat before seeing the wet patch on his trousers and the puddle he was standing in

"Malfoy did you wet yourself?!" Harry and Ginny were brilliant actors but even they couldn't keep a straight face, neither could the rest of the class as they all started laughing, even Crabbe and Goyle. Hagrid had managed to contain himself to a small smile.

"Alright bye Hagrid" Harry called as the two walked off "don't worry we'll explain everything to Professor McGonagall, see you later"

"S…see you" Hagrid managed to get out before turning back to his close, he had to avoid looking at Malfoy because he knew he would laugh if he did "I think it'd be best if this class finishes a bit early today" After a few nods, the class was dismissed.

Ginny had managed to get Harry to Madam Pomfrey who fixed him up while she went and explained everything to McGonagall, soon Harry was out and the two later visited Hagrid. They had to spend some time convincing him it wasn't his fault and that Harry was fine but after that he came with them to go see Buckbeak who was ecstatic at seeing his three favourite humans all together.

The next day Harry was called to the Headmasters office, he knew it would be related to Buckbeak, he also knew that the business with Malfoy wouldn't be mentioned. Though they could hold that over Harry they probably wouldn't as it would be embarrassing but Harry had an argument prepared just in case. Once he entered the office he found Malfoy senior and junior sitting on one side of the desk and the Headmaster was sitting on the other side with Snape and McGonagall standing either side of him. Harry assumed that they was called here as in his capacity as the head of house and deputy headmistress.

Harry, as professional and respectful as he was didn't think twice about looking to see if Malfoys trousers were wet when he took his seat next to him. Malfoy shrugged and crossed his legs, which caused Harry to snicker and the two adults to wonder what was going on. Snape knew from McGonagall, Harry could see the slightest curve on Snapes and McGonagall's mouth. Snape and her had come prepared by getting all of their laughs out before the meeting started.

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke "do you know why I've called you?" Harry simply shook his head "Mr Lucius Malfoy wished to make a complaint against Hagrid and the Hippogriff 'Buckbeak'. Professor Snape and McGonagall insisted you be here for the discussion."

"Is this really necessary?" Harry asked "I mean I'm the victim and if I'm not complaining then nobody else should. Madam Pomfrey looked me over, I'm perfectly fine"

"That's as maybe Mr Potter" Lucius sneered "but I cannot allow my son to continue in a class where that dangerous creature could kill him"

"Then perhaps your son shouldn't have joined the magical creatures class" Harry smirked "Mr Malfoy, I don't know what you've taught your son but even at the age of five I knew that if you bothered even an animal then you can't complain if it hurts you."

"What did you say?" Lucius demanded

"I'm not repeating all of that" Harry sighed "long story short, you have no grounds to complain when your son purposefully and intently ignored all instructions and warnings from the teacher and agitated the Hippogriff and was not injured. You can't complain about safety because nobody else was hurt or put in danger, the only two people who were remotely in danger was your son because he refused to obey instructions and me because I had to save him"

"Dumbledore if you don 't do something then I will" Lucius turned on the headmaster "I'm sure the school board would agree with me"

"I don't think they would" Harry disagreed

"What would you know about the school board?" Lucius smirked "you're not even a member"

"You're clearly not a good one" Harry smiled "if you were than you would have noticed that there is a spot reserved for the head of the Potter house, there's also one reserved for the head of the Black house so me and my godfather wouldn't need more than two letters each to join." Malfoys face paled slightly but Harry wasn't done

"I understand were recently removed from your duty as chairman, perhaps my godfather could take over. I'd do it but I'm busy with school. Oh and unless I'm mistaken, Augusta Longbottom is on the board. She's my mate's gran; Draco wouldn't know her much as he actively tries to bully her grandson." Lucius shot a disappointed look

"Yeah, Draco's never put thought behind who he chooses as friends and enemies, perhaps that's why he has those two big boys protect him even though their size is useless in a world of magic. But then again maybe it's not their protection he has them around for, are you still dating Goyle Malfoy?"

"He what?!" Lucius screamed

"He's lying father!" Malfoy replied

"My mistake, it was Crabbe, I think he liked that gift you got him by the way" Harry continued with a smile on his face "anyway where was I? Ah yes, Draco has also chosen to make an enemy out of Augusta Longbottoms heir and me, the heir to the most noble and ancient house of Potter. Which, I might add, has debts owed to us by at least a quarter of the board.

If money is required than I have no problem seeing as both me and my Godfather individually have enough money to buy you ten times over and still live comfortably. If you want to charge Hagrid with something then I may just have to consider charging your son with endangering his fellow students, it'd make an interesting article wouldn't it. 'Malfoy heir saved by boy-who-lives before wetting his pants'" Malfoy shifted a little, leaving Lucius to wonder if that last part was actually true "while I'm at it perhaps I could even convince them to rethink letting certain members stay"

Malfoy froze, he realised he was right. No way in hell was he going to lose his position because his son couldn't keep his mouth shut. Harry didn't need mind reading to know what Malfoy senior was thinking.

"Very well" Malfoy senior stood up "I shall take my leave, come Draco" Draco stood up as well, just before they had left they were stopped by a very cocky and smug voice that belonged to a particular boy-who-lived.

"By the way Mr Malfoy, when it comes to the political game it's clear that you're more experienced, however that doesn't mean you're better" Neither Malfoy could come up with a response and left.

"Harry" Dumbledore's eyes had that annoying twinkle "would you really have exhausted all those favours just to help Hagrid"

"No" Harry replied "I would have done it to help Hagrid and Buckbeak. Hagrids nice to me and Ginny, he tells me and Ginny storied about my parents and her family. He invites us over whenever possible and he's willing to listen to us about anything. He maybe big but he's the kindest and most gentle soul I've ever met . He loves his job and he knows he's stuff, both good qualifications for a teacher.

As for Buckbeak, he's just an innocent creature. All he planned to do when he woke up was probably eat something then go back to sleep, he didn't ask to be insulted and only reacted the way he knows how to. I don't think he deserved to be putdown just because one rich and arrogant snob wouldn't follow instructions." The pride of McGonagall and Snapes face didn't go unnoticed by Harry.

"Very well, you may go Harry" Dumbledore spoke softly. Dumbledore was very pleased, admittedly he saw a lot of Tom Riddle in Harry just now and he knew the whole story about what happened. Harry was violent, dangerous and just now he was ruthless, resourceful and made him realise what a truly ambitious Harry could achieve.

But he had to admit he was rather pleased when he heard Harrys reason, doing all he can to protect the innocents of the world from the rich and evil people of the world. He was also very glad that Miss Weasley was able to keep him in line, despite his anger. She would keep him firmly planted in the light.

"Thanks" Harry stood up

"What are you going to do now?" Dumbledore asked

"Probably best if I blow off some steam" Harry shrugged "I might do some flying, workout, talk with Ginny or do my homework. Something productive you know" Harry walked out, he knew exactly what he was going to do. He was going to go in that room the elves showed him and summon up some dummies that look like the Malfoys and then he was going to practise some curses on them, then he may do some snogging with Ginny.

Later Harry sat down with Ginny sat opposite him at lunch, the rumours of the class and what happened at the meeting and people for the most part were divided into two categories. Those who feared Harry and those who were in awe of Harry, there was also the ones who laughed at Malfoy but that was pretty much everyone except a select few Slytherin's. Annoyingly for Ginny the girls became even more interested in Harry, she wasn't worried about him, he was willing to marry and soul bond with her for goodness sakes. That didn't mean she'd hold back if a girl tried anything, speaking of"

"Hello Harry" A sweet voice spoke from behind him, he looked back to see Cho smiling at him

"Hello" Harry responded in a neutral tone and voice

"I heard what happened today" She delicately placed a hand on his forehead, Harry could feel Ginny rolling her eyes

"I'm fine thanks" Harry responded, in reality he was actually quite uncomfortable and it wasn't because he got slapped by a hippogriff, the girls hands were cold. And what kind of lunatic touches another person without permission?

"That's good" She smiled wider, she removed her hand but started batting her eyelashes

"Yeah my wonderful girlfriend over here took me to the hospital wing." Harry emphasised 'girlfriend', hoping she'd get the hint. Ginny thought it was adorable how he was putting this much effort into it, in her position she would have simply told her to get lost, but Harry felt like he should at least try and be nice considering he knew what it was like to be the subject of rumours. Unfortunately this might be one time where the rumours were true.

"That's nice" she brushed it off "good luck at the quidditch match tomorrow, not that you need it. Hey maybe one day you could come and give me some tips"

"Unfortunately I'm pretty busy" Harry internally sighed, Ginny was amused, she knew that if Cho didn't go soon then the good old honest Harry would have to deal with her. "and the rest of my time is spent with Ginny"

"Well I'm always here if you need me, see you tomorrow" Cho left, not before lightly squeezing Harrys arm. Harry turned to see Ginny trying to hide her smile behind her hands

"You know I might just get with her to annoy you" Harry joked

"No you wouldn't" Ginny spoke confidently

"No I wouldn't" Harry mock frowned

"One bit of good news is your too scary for anyone to call you whipped"

"Whipped am i?" Harry spoke in mock fury

"Totally" Ginny smiled, she was going to continue when Harry had flicked some of his ice cream at her face, he fortunately managed to run before she could retaliate. She chased after him but didn't manage to keep up, next thing she knew she found herself in an empty corridor. Then, none other than Micheal Corner walks up to her.

'Of course' she thought sarcastically 'he'd naturally be the only the only person in an empty corridor at the same time as me, whoever is currently writing the story to my life is getting a little lazy'.

"Hi Ginny" He spoke

"Hi Micheal" Ginny sighed

"Where's Harry?" He asked with a hopeful look

"I'm just off to see him now" She lied "so if you'll excuse me I'll be off" For Corner however that wasn't acceptable, he grabbed her by the arms and pushed her against the wall. He was looking at her, a lot, like way too much and the worst part was he wasn't just looking at her face. He was bit too focused on her to notice that Harry and Professor Snape had appeared behind him. They chose to remain quiet and Harry gave Ginny the 'play along look', so naturally she obliged

"What do you want?" She asked in a neutral tone

"I want you" Corner said in a voice that he probably thought was seductive

"Yes I can see that" Ginny replied "but unfortunately for you I am with Harry, and very happy thank you very much"

"Come on" Micheal groaned "you know girls only want to be with him because his famous and rich and powerful, you don't want people thinking you're one of those girls do you? I'm not as rich or strong o famous but I am just as much of a man as him" He leaned closer

"Sorry Corner" Ginny responded "but I knew Harry way before school, we've always been best friends and when I became his girlfriend it wasn't because he was rich or famous or powerful, it was because he was nice and kind and he cared for me. He also took my feelings into account, he wouldn't push me against a wall without making sure I was comfortable with it. The fact that he's all those things and hot is just a bonus"

"I'm better looking than him" Micheal argued

"No you're not" Ginny agreed "he has better hair, his body's better and I could look into his eyes all day."

"You're just saying that because he's the only guy you've ever been with" Corner leaned in closer, Ginny ducked her head down just in case, she also raised her knee quite high. Just in case. Micheal stumbled back and fell to the floor. That's when he realised that Harry and Snape were standing behind him the whole time

"Well sir" Harry spoke to Snape "I'm divided between being proud of my girlfriend and angry at him, how about you deal with the second part. I'd do it but I'd likely kill him"

"Regrettably I cannot allow that" Snape grabbed Corner and yanked him to his feet "Corner that'll be fifty points from Ravenclaw and you shall come with me to discuss your punishment with your head of house. If it was up to me you'd be expelled, however I can assure you that whatever punishment you receive will seem like nothing compared to what Potter would have done to you if I was not here" Snape dragged him away, which was a funny sight as Micheal could barely walk but Snape showed no intent to slow down"

"Harry" Ginny said "what would you have done to him if you got angry?" Harry stepped closer to her

"Let's just say you'd have a lot of blood everywhere" Harry sighed before erecting a few privacy wards "Gin, there's something I feel that you should know. I told you how the Horcrux Voldermort put inside me was destroyed, but it still let me keep his parsletounge ability and when it was destroyed I got everything else. Not his powers, but all of his memories and feelings up until when he tried to kill me. And they've affected me, for example I'm realistic about people and I enjoy a good fight, but I don't know if I got that part from Voldermort. I know that some people like Malfoy need to be scared into behaving and others need to be permanently stopped.

When I've been doing all these years was getting over Voldermorts anger, not my own. Mine for the longest time was stored away, waiting to be dealt with. But whenever 'I' do get angry you help me, that's why I'm rarely angry. In full honesty I've realised something, I've seen Voldermort and his dark side and Dumbledore with his light side. I realised, I'm neither. I'm not light or dark , I'm somewhere in between. Grey if you will, it's who I am; I'll probably hurt someone sooner or later. Maybe even kill some people but I'll do it to people who deserve it. I figured you should know"

"What do you mean?" Ginny, she'd be with him no matter what but she needed to know

"Well say if someone joins the death eaters but hadn't done anything yet" Harry explained " he could probably be dealt with some scaring or maybe a little bit of pain. But say if someone used the killing curse, you need to intend to kill someone; you need to want to do it and enjoy it. Maybe the first time they're salvageable, maybe, but if someone keeps doing it then they shouldn't be kept around to hurt more people.

If the adults went about it like this from the start then I could probably still be living with my parents, I love you but this is the way I'm going to go about it. I don't expect you to want to do it or even like it but I need you to let me do it. Please!" Ginny engulfed him in a bone breaking hug, the two stayed like that for several minutes

"I'll never abandon you Harry" Ginny whispered "I'll love you no matter what"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Sorry Cho

Ginny and Harry were sat in the common rooms, doing homework. After talking with Harry Ginny had conceded that he was right, Dumbledore was ineffective and Voldermort had the right idea of using fear to make a change. Harry was perfect as he was strong enough to go about it in the same way but he also had good control of his emotions and unlike Voldermort he wouldn't go dark.

Much to people's disbelief Ginny never felt like a child, at least not since meeting Harry. His childhood stories really sobered her up on how she felt about the world, she learnt it was unfair. If someone as kind as Harry was thrown under the stairs then the world's not really the sunshine and rainbows that people would have you believe. What she learnt about her family also made her cautious, both she and Harry took great care with who they trusted and what they trusted them with. The fact that she also had that horcrux slipped into her cauldron made Ginny aware of the fact that she could have died if it wasn't for Harry, the prophecy that Harry told her about made her realize he could die.

The fact that Dumbledore and her mother have been manipulating Harry and her (or at least trying to do so) made her lose faith in 'the light side', frankly if Harry had a better way then she had no problem with him taking it. If she needed to then she'd stay with him to stop him from turning into another Voldermort and he had promised that he would never use the unforgivables unless he absolutely had to use them.

"Ginny!" Ron and Hermione approached the two

"Yes" Ginny asked

"What happened with Corner?" Ron asked

"Nothing" Ginny shrugged "the git was trying hoping to introduce his lips with mine"

"So she decided to introduce him to her knee" Harry added "I think she may have prevented him from having children" Ron winced a little before he looked at Harry

"Where were you?" He asked

"Oh, me and Gin were playing and she was chasing me. When I realized she wasn't there i came looking for her and bumped into Professor Snape on the way, we both then saw what Corner was doing. Fortunately for him Snape took charge of his punishment"

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked

"If it was up to me then Corner would have had the word 'prat' branded on his head and at least one less limb" Hermione looked at him in horror "and maybe I'd have sewn his lips together, like to see him try and kiss someone after that. If I can't do all that then I'd like to at least freeze him so Ginny could practice some spells and hexes on him"

"You'd do all that because he tried to kiss Ginny?"

"No but I'd like to" Harry shrugged "as a matter of fact, why are you talking to us Hermione?"

"Hey don't be rude" Ron's face reddened

"I can if I want" Harry replied "I'm pretty sure Ginny doesn't want her here either, right Gin?" Ginny shook her head "plus after what happened with your parents and the first two years I would have figured that you'd have learnt and left us alone"

"She's here because she's my friend" Ron shouted, fortunately no one else was in the common room "and she's coming with me to check on my sister, not that it's any if your business. What would you know about it? You don't even have a family" Ginny was about to hex Ron before Harry placed a calming hand on hers

"I have a family, my elves, the twins, my godfather and Ginny" Harry responded "it may not be normal but it's my family and I'm happy with it. Personally I don't think you care much for your sister"

"What does that mean?!" Ron flared, Hermione had to actually hold him back, mostly because she knew that Ron was too angry to realize he would never stand a chance against Harry

"Exactly what I said" Harry responded in a calm voice, but Ginny could see the fire blazing in his eyes "in our first year you tried to stop us from being friends, in our second year you upset her by saying I could do better, you're constantly trying to find an excuse for us to break up and you just heard that someone tried to kiss her against her will but you decided to bring a girl who had tried to steal her boyfriend"

"Hermione never did that" Ron argued "she just lied to get her parents off her back"

"Really?" Harry raised an eyebrow "if that was true then why didn't she say your name? Or one of the other boys? She chose my name even though I constantly try to get her to leave me alone? Also while we're at it I wonder if you ever thought about why she chose Ginny at the dueling club last year. Perhaps Hermione was trying to prove she was better than her" Hermione couldn't believe it, how did Harry know

"It was pretty obvious" Ginny added "crap I've let my notes in my room"

"I'll get them" Harry rose from the chair and walked up to Ginny's room, Ginny knew what he was doing. If he gave Hermione and Ron something to focus on then forget about the conversation, either that or he just wanted to confuse them and leave Hermione asking a lot of questions he wouldn't answer.

Probably the second one, they loved doing things that left Hermione with questions because she became frustrated and desperate to know. Then when she got close they'd do something else and she'd forget all about it.

"I thought boys couldn't go to the girls dorm?" Ron looked at Hermione

"They can't! Whenever they do then the stairs turn into a slide"

"What's up guys?" The twins came in to the room

"Harry just walked up to the girls room to get Ginny's notes" Ron spoke and left the twins with matching surprise looks

"No way" Fred looked towards the stairs

"We've been trying to get up there forever"

"Why didn't you two just levitate each other?" Ginny asked, the twins faces lit up

"Ginny!" Hermione scolded "don't encourage them to break the rules!"

"First of all, you're not a teacher or my mother so doesn't take that attitude with me. Second of all I just told them a way, to do it. I don't even know if it will work but if it does then I'm not responsible for their choices, thirdly you're breaking the rules just by interacting with me. I'm pretty sure McGonagall had told you to not come near us unless you absolutely had to do so."

Hermione had no argument, she looked to Ron for support, but it turned he was by the stairs and telling the twins to levitate him up to the girls room. They did but once Ron got to a certain right he was thrown back and landed on the floor right next to the twins feet.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" He stood up

"Maybe there are wards" Ginny suggested "they probably stop all boys from going up"

"Alright guys?" Harry came back down and handed Ginny her notes before sitting down next to her

"How'd you do that?!" Hermione's interrogation began "you shouldn't have been able to even walk up the stairs?! How long have you known you can do that? Do you come up to the stairs when we me and the other girls are gone?!"

"Hey Ginny" Harry looked into his book and ignored Hermione "who set off the ward?"

"Ron" Ginny answered "the twins tried to levitate him up but didn't about the ward so he ended up getting thrown back down"

"How'd you get up there?" George asked

"Come on Harry" Fred nudged him a little

"Tell your honorary brothers"

"We won't tell a soul"

"Sorry lads" Harry smirked "trade secret, besides I'm the only one who can do it"

"How'd you do it?" Hermione snatched the book out of his hand "tell me"

"Nah" Harry snatched it back "you could probably work it out"

"Fine then" Hermione huffed "I'm going to go and tell McGonagall"

"Go ahead bookworm" Harry replied "I already told her I could, I had to promise I wouldn't go up there and do anything 'inappropriate'" Ginny blushed "but she knows, and no she doesn't know how I did it" Hermione ran out of the common room, furious at not knowing.

"Now that she's gone tell us how you did it" Ron spoke quietly

"I told you" Harry replied "I'm not telling you guys and even if I did it wouldn't matter because I'm the only one can do it"

"I bet you told Ginny"

"Of course I told Ginny" Harry replied, Ginny smiled and the two continued their work resulting in a grumbling Ron leaving the common room and the twins snickering. The next day they had Defense class with Professor Lupin, today they were studying boggarts.

Ron's fear was a giant spider, Hermione's fear was Professor McGonagall telling her she had failed all her exams and would be kicked out of school. Needless to say the class was doing their best not to laugh, then came Malfoys turn. He walked up to the boggart, and it transformed. The class didn't know how to react when his boggart turned into Harry; Malfoy looked embarrassed and ran out of the class.

Harry and Ginny saw each other laying in blood, Ginny turned her boggart into Hermione begging for a book which earned a few laughs while Harry turned his into Malfoy wetting himself whilst wearing a shirt that said 'daddy's boy', and caused enough laughter to actually defeat the boggart. As soon as the lesson had finished Harry wrote a letter to tell Sirius about what happened in class, Sirus had made him promise to tell him whenever something hilarious like that happened.

The two were soon walking down the hallway when they saw Peeves being chased by Filch, the two loved Peeves, as the heir to Hogwarts Harry was the one person Peeves had to obey. Peeves loved the two because Harry told him he could do whatever he wants as long as he doesn't bother Harry, Ginny, Neville or the twins. The latter even helped Peeves with pranks, who in turn helped them with pranks. Peeves would also keep Filch away from them as a thank you for putting a good word in with the bloody baron.

The other ghosts also obeyed Harry, however he instructed them to pretend he was a normal student and don't reveal his secrets but also tell him anything important that they learn. He also had to instruct the same thing to the elves, portraits and suits of armors. Harry and Ginny had made their way to the headmaster's office; Dumbledore had called them, presumably to discuss Corner. They entered and found Dumbledore sitting in his chair, with Flitwick sitting in one of his right and Snape sitting on one on his left. The two sat down in their own chairs and the meeting began.

"Harry, Ginny" Dumbledore started "I've called you here to discuss the punishment of Mr Corner, Professor Flitwick is here as his head of house and Professor Snape as the one responsible for catching him. They both insisted you be here to discuss he's punishment, as he's actions affected you both, Professor McGonagall couldn't be here as she's stuck teaching a class but will probably talk to the two of you later. I was hoping you two would agree with me in letting him off with a warning."

"Absolutely not!" Ginny replied "the prat shoved me against a wall and tried to kiss me without my consent despite knowing I have a boyfriend. If all he gets is a warning and a few points, do you really think that he'll never do it again"

"Miss Weasley everyone deserves a second chance" Dumbledore spoke in a wise voice

"Even at the cost of others" Harry looked at Dumbledore and wondered how anyone would willingly follow this idiot, along with what idiot put him in charge "frankly sir i think you're wrong. Corner had no excuse, you can't argue it was a simple mistake, second chances should only be given to those willing to earn them."

"Now Harry" Dumbledore sighed

"No" Harry interrupted "if me and the Professor weren't there then Ginny would have to probably hurt him, and what if he suddenly decides to pick another girl? One who can't fight back, what if he decides to do more than just force a kiss on her? What if he decides to rip her clothes off or something like that? And he'll do it because the first time all he lost was some points and got a warning"

"I have to agree with Mr Potter" Flitwick sighed "as much as I wish I didn't have to punish a member of my own house, actions do have consequences and Corner won't learn if we let him off with a simple warning"

"Needless to say I am also in agreement" Snape added "I saw the boy forcing himself on Miss Weasley, we should ensure that he is no hurry to repeat that action, if not for the girls safety then for his own. In combat a woman is just as deadly as a man, especially in magical combat."

"Very well" Dumbledore sighed in resignation "what do you suggest?"

"I believe those affected by his actions should decide" Snape looked at Harry and Ginny

"I agree" Flitwick did the same

"You should chose" Harry looked at Ginny "he did it to you and none of the punishments I can think of are legal"

"Fine" Ginny sat up straighter "I think he should at least get suspended or have detention for the rest of the year and in either case he should be threatened with expulsion if he repeats his crime"

"Is that really necessary Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked

"I think so" Ginny replied, she had maintained a calm voice because she and Harry knew they wouldn't be taken seriously if they started yelling. "he needs to be shown that his actions have consequences, people break rules because they aren't afraid of consequences. If either of those two punishments occur along with the threat of getting expelled then he may never do it again, that combined with the fact that half the school probably knows by now should be sufficient. It'll force the message into his head and warn the other girls." After the other three agreed, Dumbledore had no choice but to agree.

The two left, knowing Dumbledore was probably starting to have doubts about their relationship. Soon it was time for the quidditch match against Ravenclaw, Harry had gotten changed with the twins and Oliver but for some reason the chasers weren't ready yet and Oliver decided to throw a fit. Harry and Ginny decided to go check on them while the twins held Oliver down, first he had Ginny go in to check if he could come in. When he was permitted to enter he found Angelina and Alicia comforting a crying Katie.

"What's going on?" Harry asked

"It's nothing" Katie sniffed

"Katie you can tell me" Harry knelt down and looked into her eyes "I won't judge and I promise I won't tell anyone"

"It's stupid" She sighed "my family owed another family a debt, something happened to them and they decided they needed us to pay the debt immediately."

"How big is the debt?" Ginny asked

"About a few thousand galleons" Angelina answered, still rubbing Katie on the back "if they don't pay then they might have to sell their house"

"Dobby, Stink" Harry called and the two elves popped in "get that emergency fund I've hidden in my suitcase" The two popped away before returning a moment later with two big bags. After receiving their masters praise they popped away

"Alright" Harry turned to Katie "in here is about, five thousand galleons, use it to pay off your debt" The girls all looked at him in shock, except for Ginny, this was typical of Harry.

"Harry I can't accept that much money!" Katie cried "you're parents left you that money"

"Yes you can" Harry told her firmly "I have plenty more where this came from and frankly I like to believe that my parents would be happy I'm helping my friends. Don't worry about me, it would take me two life times to spend my family fortune and even if I did I still have my godfather's fortune"

"But it's too much Harry"

"No it's not" Harry was not budging "any you don't spend you can give back to me, spend it with Angelina and Alicia or keep it if you want. I don't care either way, and it's not charity either. You can consider this a thank you to all of you for being my friends and being family." The girls all looked touched, Katie was now crying out of happiness. She didn't know why but she still felt like she should object

"But Harry…"

"Katie" Harry interrupted "I'm no expert but I believe that having someone throw a bag of money at your face could result in pain, that's exactly what I'm going to do if you keep refusing. Now you and me are going to go out there with this miserable lot and we're going to play so good that even Oliver and Slytherin's couldn't criticise us. Alright?"

"Alright" Katie smiled in her defeat

"Good I just need to ask one thing from you lot, try to get as many points as fast as you can. I think the other teams seeker fancy's me and she doesn't seem to be taking the hint that I'm not interested, so I'm hoping to avoid her if it's okay with you"

"You what?" Alicia asked "aren't you still the same 'mess with me or Ginny and I'll blast you' Harry potter?" Harry, ignoring Ginny's giggles, replied

"The very same but I thought I'd give her a chance because I don't want to judge her based on rumours like everyone does to me, unfortunately this is one case where the rumours are accurate. If she doesn't take the hint after today then then the old me may just have to come and explain"

The girls all wrapped Harry in a hug and made their way over to the rest of the team, Harry sped ahead and informed Oliver that if he had decided to give them grief about being late, then Harry would break his broomstick. Oliver wisely kept quiet, unsure if Harry would make good on his threat, but because it was Harry he decided not to chance it. Soon the teams walked out and greeted the other team in the middle, Cho was smiling at Harry who did his best to act uninterested, which was quite easy for him. Probably because he wasn't interested.

Soon the teams took to the air and the match had started, Harry saw the snitch immediately but kept to his usual 'let everyone play and have fun before I end the game' method. Cho seemed more focused on him as she had chosen the 'follow the other seeker' tactic, although Harry theorised she wasn't doing this because she thought it would help in quidditch. Harry was getting bored so he decided to do something he had only recently started doing, he stood on his broom and started flying around. Cho was struggling to keep up, even while standing Harry was still just as fast as he was sitting.

Harrys method of flying caught a lot of people's attention including nearly all the members of the opposite team, Harry took the opportunity to run interference for the chasers or distract the other teams players. Their beaters were getting frustrated at how they couldn't hit Harry even while he was standing, for Harry this was just a bit of fun. He even flew by Ginny and got a quick kiss before he flew off, he could see Cho's lips curve down slightly. Progress should be celebrated so he took another lap and kissed Ginny again.

Eventually Wood signalled him to tell him it was time to get the snitch, while that was happening the Ravenclaw captain was shouting at Cho for doing nothing but following Harry, although he quickly stopped when it looked like she had started crying. She looked around and saw Harry was flying right at her, he was going really fast, she didn't even have time to react. The next thing she knew, Harry had bent down and jumped off his broom, the broom continued moving in the air and flew just underneath her whilst Harry soared just above her head.

Harry landed on his broom after catching the snitch that was just behind Cho's head, the match had ended and Gryffindor won. Cho was halfway between being in awe of his skill and being furious he had ignored her and jumped over her like she was a mere obstacle. Harry returned to his team and they all celebrated his victory with a party in the common room. During the party Harry noticed Ron kept shooting him odd looks, Harry had to guess he was torn between disliking Harry and wanting to talk to him about quidditch. The next day, the students were still talking about how brilliant Harry was at quidditch. After Harry and Ginny ate lunch the two walked hand in hand back to the common room while Ginny was trying to come up with names for his move.

"How about the Potter feint?" Ginny suggested, Harry didn't answer because they were stopped by Cho

"Harry!" She spoke through gritted teeth "what the hell was that yesterday?"

"Quidditch?" Harry said with a smile "If you're referring to how I rode my broom then I should let you know I've called that particular style 'broom boarding' and if you're talking about that move at the end then I should let you know that I haven't decided on a name for it yet? But me and Ginny are considering naming it the 'Potter feint'"

"Look Harry, I can forgive you for that but don't do it again" She spoke in a stern voice, hoping to scare him into submission. Unfortunately for her Harry had stared down Dumbledore and Voldermort in the past, so she couldn't really compete

"I probably will use it again, it's a great move and it's fun to do so I can use it even if I'm not catching the snitch"

"Whatever" Cho sighed, she needed to get back on track, she'll make Harry her boyfriend then make him promise never to do that to her again. "I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to Hogs meads tomorrow?"

"Sorry me and Harry have a date tomorrow" Ginny interjected

"Yes we do" Harry kissed her forehead "we can't have the most beautiful girl in the world go without her darling boyfriend now can we?"

"Ah you think I'm beautiful?" Ginny spoke in mock surprise, she knew what line Harry wanted to set up

"I think that there is no girl as beautiful as you" Harry spoke in a serious voice, he at least thought it was true and if it made Cho leave then it's a nice bonus

"Really? What about me?" Cho said in a joking tone, now all she'd need is for Harry to look at her and actually take in her beauty. Maybe he'd be flustered, maybe he'd actually start thinking about it and gravitate away from Ginny. Harry looked her up and down once before shrugging his shoulders.

"Meh" He answered, Cho couldn't believe it. She was smiling, had the perfect amount of make up on and her clothes were perfect but all she got was 'meh'? "You're not bad" He added, Cho was fuming. He ignored her in quidditch despite her obvious hints and now he basically said that she was nothing compared to Ginny and was 'not bad'.

"Not bad?!" She repeated "what's that supposed to mean Potter?! I'm just okay enough to not be bad"

"See you got it" Harry smiled, while Ginny just giggled "I was trying to be nice about it Cho but you weren't taking the hints that I left out for you"

"What hints?!" Cho demanded, she had no idea what he was going on about. She was the one leaving hints for him.

"The fact that I didn't like it when you touched me, the fact that I didn't want to spend time with you, the fact that I ignored you throughout quidditch and the fact that I've kissed and held hands with Ginny whenever I see you. I was trying to be nice because I didn't want to judge you by the rumours that went on about you but I've rather lost my patience. I'd like to make it clear now, in my eyes you're either Ginny or you're not Ginny, even if I enjoyed spending time with you I would have never seen you as more than a friend or an honorary sister no matter how much we got along"

"Are you kidding me?" Cho screamed, many people in the corridor turned to look at them. Ginny knew what Cho was doing, she was hoping to make a scene and bring negative attention to Harry. Sadly for her, Ginny and Harry quickly picked up on her plan

"I'm sorry Cho!" Harry spoke loud enough for the people in the corridor to hear him, all it would take is one person to talk and the rumours would be flying around Hogwarts by this time tomorrow "I know you like me but I'm not interested!"

"Yeah Cho!" Ginny added in a loud voice "just because my boyfriend rejected you for me doesn't give you the right to start screaming at us! It's clear he doesn't want you! And we're not afraid to tell the teachers if you try anything, come on Harry, let's go somewhere and snog!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Harry replied before leading her away, leaving a confused and embarrassed Cho with many people staring at her.

"Ten points for disturbing students" Snape said as he walked past Cho.

Harry and Ginny stopped in the common room and decided that they should probably discuss what had just happened before the begin snogging. Harry was just glad that Ginny actually wanted to snog.

"Good Merlin, that girl is tiring" Ginny exclaimed

"I know, I swear she was about to start crying"

"All she ever does is smile or cry" Ginny pointed out

"I know" Harry agreed "I saw the water works beginning when the Ravenclaw captain was telling her off for doing nothing but following me around the pitch. I swear he probably gave her the spot on the team because she'd cry otherwise."

"I just hope she back offs" Ginny commented

"I hope she leaves us alone"

"That would be great, by the way I should probably give you your reward for being such a good boyfriend"

"What reward?" Harry asked, shortly before Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck and began kissing him. Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and gladly accepted his reward. Then Ron entered and started shouting at them about snogging in the common room, so they just went to Ginny's room and continued.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – A bloody broken nose and a bloody broken boy

Dumbledore sat in his office, thinking about Harry and Ginerva. He had exhausted his mind wondering how Harry was so different from what he expected. Not only was Harry an incredibly powerful and dangerous young man, he was also confident and cocky and nearly everyone liked him. Dumbledore saw many similarities between him and Tom Riddle, both were smart, handsome, gifted boys who hated attention yet could bring people to look at them in awe, fear and wonder.

He also refused to listen to anyone when he didn't feel like it. Even with Lockhart, the man may have been a complete idiot, but he was still a teacher yet the rumors say that Harry refused to take part in his class. It seemed that the only person who could really tell Potter what to do was Ginny Weasley.

On two different occasions she was the one to stop him from conflicting serious harm on Malfoy, he never left her sight unless he had to. Even all the students knew that upsetting her could be hazardous to their health if Harry found out. Dumbledore was then struck with a thought, 'Why her? Why did Harry choose Ginny Weasley?'

According to her mother, Ginny had never met Harry until his first train ride. Something didn't make sense; Harry would never become this close with the first girl he had met on a train and for that matter of fact, why was she in school a year early? The recent development with Corner had raised a concern for Albus, Harry was effectively held back by the girl but what if she had decided not to hold him back, what if Harry rubbed off on her? It was highly unlikely that a member of the Weasley family would go dark but it would be better not to take chances. If he couldn't control her then he should probably break up their relationship, yes, he could then approach and comfort Harry in his time of sadness and install a new relationship between the two. This would be a good plan if Weasley doesn't work out, but it would be preferable to have them both working together for him. Perhaps tomorrow he could see how much he needed to work on by viewing her mind, it could also allow him to learn more about Harry.

In the common room, Harry and Ginny were conversing whilst Ginny sat on the floor and leaned on Harry's legs and read a book, Harry just ran his fingers through her hair and that was good enough for him. Ginny was amused by the thought of what others perceived their relationship to be. The two loved each other, and that part was true, but she thought the fact that people thought Harry was 'whipped' by her was laughable. The only reason people thought that was because Ginny was the only one who asked him to do things, to others he obeyed but she knew he didn't mind or did it because he thought he should. Like with Malfoy, he knew he shouldn't kill him, she just had to remind him.

Personally she thought they were on equal footing, if she asked him to do something then he'd do it and vice versa. They'd both refuse if they absolutely didn't want to do something, but that situation never came up. Besides, she expected Harry just liked caring for someone, it made sense. Especially after his time with his muggle relatives, she was the only one he ever told about what really happened there, frankly she couldn't blame him. It didn't happen to her and she wouldn't ever want to repeat those stories if she didn't have to, they still gave her nightmares, the thoughts of a young Harry doing all of those things. That's probably why he was so happy around her, he had found someone who cared and he'd be dammed if he couldn't be happy now.

Soon Hermione came in the room with Ron and a few other Gryffindor's, Hermione was trying to get them to buy badges and join her in this new organization she had made called 'The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare', or S.P.E.W for short. Though she got angry when you called it that, unfortunately for her Ron had been the only one who had brought one.

Hermione wasn't very popular with the lions, especially after the rumors had been flying around, that combined with the fact that most people didn't care or disagreed with her cause meant no one wanted to join. People found her idea of leaving clothes around ridiculous, it didn't even remotely occur to her that the elves didn't want that and could be offended, she just glared and argued with the twins when they told her that.

"Harry, Ginny" She approached the pair "do you two think you can join?"

"No thanks" Ginny refused flat out, a bit rudely actually, Harry was glad that he was having a positive effect on her.

"Harry, please join!" Hermione begged

"Why me?" Harry raised an eyebrow "hoping to use my name to attract more people?" Hermione flushed in embarrassment "thought so, come on Gin, Dobby and the elves invited us to the kitchens for dinner." Hermione was about to say something when she realized Ginny was also surprised.

"He what?" Ron asked, he had always wanted to go to the kitchens, he had heard from Fred and George that the food was even more delicious than what was served in the great hall.

"Dobby talked with the other elves" Harry addressed Ginny's surprised face "he got them to agree to get us a table for two tonight, and the other house elves have agreed to provide us with a romantic dinner."

"Really?" Ginny jumped to her feet

"Of course" Harry stood up "I figured after those two idiots tried to come between us, we're both tired and we deserved something to take our minds off it." Ginny wrapped Harry in a hug which he gladly returned, the two were about to make their way down when Hermione stopped them before they go out the portrait.

"You can't do that" Hermione all but yelled "they're living creatures, you can't force them to make you dinner"

"Didn't you hear the part where the elves 'agreed' to make us a dinner?" Ginny's eyes blared. No way was she going to let Hermione get in the way of her romantic evening "me and Harry would never force them to do something they don't want to do, unlike you, trying to force your way of life on they despite the fact that they don't want it"

"Excuse me?!" Hermione looked affronted by Ginny's words, Ron had managed to have enough sense to back away while Harry just marveled at the glorious sight that was angry Ginny. He was just glad he wasn't the one on the receiving end, and frankly he got proud of her when she was angry, Harry loved that no one could handle the little petite red girl when she was angry. Well, except him, but he just knew what to say to calm her down.

"You heard me" Ginny growled "you keep going on about helping elves but you've never thought about what they want. You've never even talked to house elves before and you shouted at the only one you did"

"Fine then" Hermione placed her hands on her hips "since I don't know where the kitchens are you can take me with you and I'll talk to them"

"I'm not taking you on our date so you can ruin it by shouting at them for not wanting to listen to you" Ginny roared "besides I couldn't do that to those house elves anyway, me and Harry already have to put up with you" Before Hermione could say anything Harry gently placed his hands around Ginny's shoulders and slowly lead her away

"Come on, you'd kill her" Harry whispered just as they left the portrait and walked towards the kitchens.

"I would" Ginny mumbled in agreement.

Eventually the two reached the kitchen where they were greeted by a swarm of excited house elves, Harry and Ginny greeted them all and even said hello to his own elves while he was here, something which made the other elves a bit jealous. They had heard stories of the great Harry Potter who had vanquished the dark lord and of his treatment to house elves, many longed to work for him but were sadly bound to the headmaster of the school. Fortunately they loved working at Hogwarts but it would still be nice to work for him.

Soon Dobby led the two to their dinner table which was covered in a very clean white cloth and had candles and flowers on it. The elves brought them a massive dinner, Ginny was in heaven, the elves food was way better than her mothers. Her mother's tasted better but she knew that was because she magically enhanced the taste, Harry had spent the last few years of his life eating elf made food, apart from on the odd occasion where he would make himself dinner yet he was surprised by the fact that it always tasted good.

After a lovely and romantic dinner the couple thanked the elves for their hard work and even caused a few of them to blush from embarrassment, they then told the elves about S.P.E.W and how Hermione was planning to leave clothes in the common room. Unsurprisingly the elves were furious, but Harry had managed to convince them to still clean the common room by having them send Dobby in first so he could take all of the clothes, Dobby loved clothes so he naturally agreed. The other elves for the first time were glad they had an elf who liked clothes, it meant they could do their work and not be insulted.

Harry and Ginny soon returned back to the common room, Ron questioned them about the food and listened in envy as the two described both the food and the treatment the house elves gave them in great detail. Hermione soon questioned them about their evening, Harry told them they had a brilliant time and told her how he had mentioned S.P.E.W and her idea to leave clothes for the House elves.

She looked on in anticipation before Harry told her about their less than happy response to hearing about her organization and her idea to leave clothes, they even handed her a letter that was given to them by the elves for her. They had to convince Hermione that they didn't write it but eventually she read it, soon after she tossed the letter at Harry and ran up the stairs in a clearly emotional state. Harry and Ginny read the letter to see what all the fuss was about, their eye's widened as they saw that the letter was four whole pages of insults and curse words thrown at Hermione. Ginny and Harry couldn't stop laughing and even Ron giggled when he read the letter, he went upstairs while the two were still laughing. Harry had never felt so much pride in another being that wasn't Ginny, he also wondered how they wrote this letter so quickly.

The next day Harry and Ginny after a brilliant defense class went off to lunch, next lesson was a free period so they were still debating whether to go to Hagrids care of magical creatures lesson or not. Harry voted yes but Ginny was still undecided, in that moment Harry noticed a familiar twinkle in her eyes, unfortunately it didn't belong to her. Using his peripheral vision he saw that Dumbledore was making eye contact with Ginny from the teachers table, Harry decided that although he would like to go up there and slam Dumbledore's face against the table, his priority would be getting him out of Ginny's mind.

Dumbledore had seen the two enter the hall, he was glad that Miss Weasley was sat in a way that allowed him to see in her eyes he'd learn what he can and if needs be then he'd check Harry's later. Dumbledore was unsure why he never probed Harry with legilimency but whenever he was going to he ended up thinking it was a bad idea.

Dumbledore entered Ginny's mind and was surprised to see a castle, was formed. It appears that she had some mind barriers in place. If she had some then Harry would likely have better, he felt rather fortunate that he didn't attempt to check Harry's. Fortunately Dumbledore should be able to get past without getting noticed, however before he could do anything he saw a person running at him with incredible speed. The person was a young boy wearing Hogwarts uniform, he jumped in the air when he got close and Dumbledore was painted surprised when he saw that it was Harry. Harry had punched him in the nose and Dumbledore was thrown out.

The entire hall was surprised when they heard a noise and found Albus Dumbledore on the floor with a broken and bleeding nose. The head of houses looked at Harry, he's expression told them that there was probably a good reason behind this, probably. Harry mouthed 'later' to them and then to Ginny.

Dumbledore stood up in a rage, one hand still on his bleeding nose, his power waved through the hall, causing each and every person to become nervous and some even afraid. Apart from two, Ginny was used to being in the presence of massive power so it didn't bother her, in fact she barely noticed. Harry had a more accurate idea of how powerful Dumbledore was, admittedly he was a lot stronger than Harry expected, but there was no way Harry was going to be afraid.

"Mr Potter!" Dumbledore bellowed "Detention and one hundred points for attacking the headmaster! You'll see me in my office after lunch is finished" The entire hall was in shock, Potter had somehow attacked the headmaster and in the middle of lunch as well.

"Yes sir, thank you" Harry calmly replied, Dumbledore stormed out, not realizing that Harry had manipulated his choice of words to get Gryffindor a hundred more points, however Ginny was one of the few who noticed.

Later Albus was sat in his office, after wiping the blood away he realized that he made a mistake, he shouldn't have lost control of his emotions and shouted at young Harry. By doing so he made him even more feared amongst the students and simultaneously made it harder for the two to establish a relationship. His chances were getting slimmer with each interaction, if Harry wasn't willing then he may have to force a relationship. Harry may hate it but it'd work out in the end.

Harry entered along with Miss Weasley and the other heads of houses, Dumbledore knew there was no point in asking why they were here, so instead he focused on Harry, just as he and Miss Weasley sat down in front of him.

"Hello sir" Harry spoke formally "I understand that you'd like to talk to me"

"Yes Harry I'd like to discuss.." Dumbledore thought about it for a while, he realized that he couldn't actually punish Harry because that would basically be admitting he entered Ginny's mind, judging by the smirk on Harry's face he also realized this "where you're staying over the holidays"

"Well sir my options are Hogwarts but I'd rather not stay here, I would stay at the burrow with Ginny but I don't think I'd be allowed to spend all my holiday there. So I'd probably just go to my home or stay with Sirus for a while seeing as his my guardian"

"I'm sorry to tell you Harry" Dumbledore spoke in a grandfatherly voice "but that is not possible as Sirius is not your guardian"

"But he is the boys godfather" Minerva interjected

"True" Dumbledore agreed "however the law states that any person who wishes to take responsibility of a child after leaving Azkaban must wait a year then be subjected to physical and mental test designed to test one's sanity and ability to care for a child and those tests can take a few months. Until that happens, Sirius is your godfather but your not your guardian, and as the headmaster I have guardianship over those in my care without guardians" For the first time since that meeting started Harry had stopped smirking.

"That means until further notice I am your guardian, I'm ordering you to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays and at the end of the holidays I'd like you to return to the Dursley's."

"You can't do that!" Ginny screamed

"It's for his safety" Dumbledore simply spoke as if he was talking to a five year old

"SAFTEY?!" Ginny roared "THE ONLY THING SAFE ABOUT THAT HOUSE IS THE FACT THAT IT HASN'T FALLEN OVER YET! DON'T YOU KNOW ABOUT ALL THE HORRIBLE THINGS THEY DID TO HIM?!"

"Come now" Dumbledore chuckled "it surely is not that bad, now if you'll excuse me the minister is waiting for me in Hagrids hut to discuss some important business" With that Dumbledore left, leaving four angry professors and one pissed off Ginny. At least they thought they were angry, they looked to Harry and saw that what they were was laughable compared to him. He put a few silencing charms around them and removed what looked to be recording charms from the room before standing up.

Harry had stood up and lightning was running all over his body, Harry disappeared in a flash of flame. Leaving four stunned teachers.

"Where did he go?" Flitwick asked

"The arctic?" Ginny guessed "or probably a dessert or somewhere where there are no people when he lets lose."

"Let's lose?" Sprout asked

"Yes" Ginny nodded "unless you'd like him to take his frustration out on the castle"

Harry returned about five minutes later, he's clothes were battered and dirty, even a little bit ripped, sweat poured down his forehead. What was really surprising was the tears pouring down his eyes. Although he was a thirteen year old boy, the teachers couldn't ever imagine him crying, his power and personality always made people forget his age.

"I can't go back" He blurted out, desperately trying to overcome his teary eyes "if I do then Dumbledore will make sure to find out if I use magic, I won't be able to fight back, I'll have to let them hurt me again. I can't do that again!"

"Harry" McGonagall spoke softly "believe me that nobody here wants this either and we will do everything in our power to prevent it but is it really that bad?" Harry wiped his eyes

"Can I have a vial Professor Snape?" The Professor obliged and gave Harry a few empty vials; Harry placed a few tears in the vials.

"You can view those in his pensive, try to ignore the fact that his pensive has my family logo on it. I'm warning you now, it's not pretty. I'll stand watch outside, come on Ginny"

"Harry" Ginny spoke softly "I want to watch as well"

"Ginny you know what happens, I've told you, you know you don't want to see that"

"Harry, I don't know why, but I need to see it. Please Harry"

"Fine" Harry reluctantly agreed "but just do us a favor and wipe the memories from the pensive once you're done. I'll be just outside, call me when it's finished." Harry walked out, leaving the Professors and Ginny to view the memories.

They put the memories in and plunged in, the sights before them had truly horrified them. A younger Harry was being forced to cook and clean whilst his relatives lay about the house, it then turned to Harry on his fourth birthday, the Dursley's had brought a cake but it was only for Dudley. When Harry had asked for a present then the biggest or rather fattest Dursley had struck him in his left arm, effectively breaking it. As Harry laid on the floor, the youngest Dursley began kicking him.

What made the matter worse was when Vernon encouraged and praised him for doing so whilst Petunia ignored as if it was just another daily occurrence. Soon Harry crawled away once they got bored of him, he crawled towards his cupboard and with what little strength he had left. He managed to get in the cupboard, thanks to the pensive they were able to see the inside of it, because frankly even Ginny wouldn't have fit in it at her current size.

Harry had no bed, just a blanket and pillow on the floor, the cupboard was dirty and dark, the only thing that they could make out was the bucket in one corner. Unfortunately the pensive allowed them to experience the smell, Ginny nearly collapsed vomiting because of it. What made things worse for them was the fact that Harry wasn't crying, he looked resigned to the pain, darkness and smell. Soon five spiders descended on webs from the ceiling.

They landed on Harry's broken arm, a few hours later the spiders had formed a make shift bandage using their webs. Harry had such an appreciative look on his face, the others didn't know how they were still watching but they just couldn't bring themselves to leave. Soon another memory appeared, they had to guess it was Harry's six birthday judging by the cake they had not allowed him to eat.

"Cou…Could I have…one bite…please?" A very skinny Harry asked

"Boy if you want to have something then go and drink some bleach" Vernon replied as he idly turned over the page of an newspaper "at least that way you'd be out of my hair" The Professors and Ginny were furious, but not enough to miss the hope that appeared on Harrys face "I don't think they allow freaks like you into heaven so when you die and go to hell you can do it somewhere where you won't make a mess" Soon everyone found a young Harry alone in a park at night with a bag, he pulled something out of the bag

"NO!" Snape suddenly exclaimed

"What is it?" Flitwick asked, he was not sure he wanted to know the answer

"That's bleach!" Snape exclaimed "muggles use it clean but if he drank it then it could kill him from the inside!" The other teachers gasped whilst Ginny ignored them, she knew what happened because Harry had told her about it but seeing it was an entirely different thing. A small part of her mind always wanted to believe Harry was exaggerating or better yet lying. He seemed too happy and content for someone who had gone through those things.

They watched as Harry gulped down the bottle, he stopped about halfway and began coughing violently, but with a determination that few possessed he kept drinking until the bottle was empty, he looked halfway between pain and anticipation of something good. Suddenly Harry began vomiting heavily, it seemed as if he's insides jumped out of his mouth. Tears began pouring down Harrys eyes.

"Why?" He whispered "why didn't it work?"

Before anyone could say anything it jumped to Harry's seventh birthday, he stood in the same park at night, it was raining and lightning was shooting from the sky. Harry pulled a knife out of his pockets, everyone so wanted to look away but couldn't. Harry aimed the knife at his stomach, the tip touched his shirt, he took a breath and pushed it forwards. Everyone stood in horror as the only visible part of the blade was the handle. Soon Harry pulled it out, he collapsed into a fetal position, disappointment and pain etched into his face once he realised he was still alive

"WHY?!" He roared from the top of his injured lungs, he wasn't even sure who he was talking to and who was listening "WHY WON'T YOU LET ME DIE?! WHAT DID I EVER DO?!" The lightning blazed through the sky "GO ON THEN, HIT WITH YOUR LIGHNING! HIT ME! COME ON! IF YOU HATE ME SO MUCH THEN WHY WON'T YOU LET ME DIE?! I HAVE NO REASON TO LIVE! NO ONE WANTS ME! LET ME DIE! Please" Harry whispered the last part, simultaneously breaking five hearts as he did.

One final scene began playing, Harry was about eight or nine from the looks of it, he was sitting in a tall tree, looking at a far away house. One that Ginny recognized, it was the burrow, more specifically he was looking at the little girl outside of the house. Ginny was sitting outside the burrow and talking to Bill who was sat next to her, Harry looked on contently.

"You wouldn't give me death" He talked out loud "so you gave me a reason to live, how nice of you" Harry added the last part sarcastically "I'm very thankful, but you should know that from now on, no more 'Mr nice guy'. I'm doing things my way, I'll hurt people if I have need to. From now on it's no holds barred, I'll do whatever I have to do to protect her. If I have to destroy every threat to do so then so be it"

Harry noticed that Ron was sneaking up behind Ginny and Bill with a bucket of water, Harry aimed his wand and silently cast a spell, then next thing that happened was Ron's bucket exploding and drenching him in water, much to the pleasure of an amused Ginny and Bill. Harry had a wide grin on his face before he slid down the tree and began walking away. The five exited the pensive, all looking grim and teary, even Snape made no attempt to hide his tears. Eventually Ginny spoke up

"I think you should know, from what I understand, that was only a few of his worst memories. He told me a few more that he didn't show us here." The teachers all collapsed into chairs, besides Snape but he still had to lean against a nearby wall.

"I can't believe it" McGonagall spoke with a pale face, she had never wanted a cup of tea more than now but couldn't bring herself to conjure one "I had told Albus not to leave him there, I can't believe he convinced me that Harry was safe there"

"I can't believe he convinced me that the boy was spoilt" Snape looked ashamed "either Albus didn't know or he lied, neither are forgivable in my book!"

"I wish someone would tell me this was fake" Sprout covered her face with her hands

"It's not!" Flitwick growled, this was the first time any of them had seen him angry but they were too depressed to care "to make things worse Potter was right! That's the Potter family Pensive! Albus must have took it from James!" Snape pushed himself off the wall, he held his head as high as he could

"I've come to a decision" He announced "all this time I helped Potter for Lilly, but I've realized now, this boy deserves better. I will dedicate my life to helping him if I have to, not because of his parents, but because it's what he truly deserves."

"You're not the only one" Sprout nodded "if I have to sell every plant and bone in my body I will help this boy. He is the kindest soul I have ever met and that's even more surprising considering what's happened to him."

I agree" Flitwick nodded "I can't think of a single race magical or not that would approve of his treatment, it's a wonder the boy hasn't already aligned himself with the death eaters to get rid of these muggles. Even with his parents I can bet he'd be tempted to do so, what amazes me is Harry is smart enough to not judge all muggles based on his experience "

"I think it's a miracle the boy hasn't killed them himself" McGonagall raised her head "I don't think even I could complain if he choose to do so. I've always supported Albus, always, even when I disagreed. But now, now I can't. I have lost all faith in him, Ginny, can you please call Mr Potter back?" Ginny nodded and went to retrieve Harry. Soon the two came back with Ginny holding on to Harrys arm tightly, almost afraid he'll disappear if she lets go. Harry seemed to be the only one in the room without tears running down his eyes.

"Judging by your expressions I can assume you didn't enjoy the trip down memory lane"

"How?" Sprout asked "after all that life's done to you, after all Albus had made you go through, how can you stand to even be in the same room as him? How are you even happy?"

"Simple" Harry answered "I rather keep Albus close where I can keep an eye on him"

"You what?" Snape asked

"As long as Albus thinks that I'm firmly in the light he won't do anything, he's an idiot but he's powerful and not just in a fight. He could keep me away from Ginny or use her to blackmail me, if he even doubts my loyalty to the light then he could use all of his connections and resources to turn me into a criminal in the eyes of the ministry then I'd spend the rest of my life running or in Azkaban. That's why I haven't killed the Dursley's yet, I'm just putting up with him until I have the opportune moment to get away, once I do then I can probably work out a way to get rid of him."

"Is there a particular reason you're not in Slytherin?" Snape wondered

"Right here" Harry gestured with his head to Ginny "I only went with the lions because that's where Ginny was"

"I'll have to thank you for that" McGonagall said to Ginny but she still couldn't bring herself to smile "what I don't understand is how you're still happy? From what I've seen I'm amazed that you're still smiling?"

"Same reason" Harry smiled "I finally have someone who cares for me and someone I care for, not even death is going to take that from me. Dumbledore thinks that snake face is going to come back and I'm inclined to agree with him, I want to make it known that I'm planning to get rid of both of them. I'm not on the light side but I'm not dark either, I'm slap bang in the middle. The grey side, my side, I'm going to deal with both of them. I showed you those memories because I want you on my side, I want the four of you to join me and…" McGonagall placed her hand up to stop Harry from continuing

"Don't even bother" She smiled for what felt like the first time "I'm with you, not because you're James and Lilly's son and not because you're my favorite student. I'm with you because you have the biggest heart I've ever seen"

"You have my complete support" Flitwick added "you and Ginny are not just great students; you are the kindest and most honest souls I've ever met."

"Just you try to stop me from helping" Sprout spoke with new found determination

"If you say the word then I'll hand in my resignation and leave here immediately" Snape waited on Harrys response

"Thank you" He said, thought it was obvious he was trying not to cry again "sadly we can't leave yet, I need you four to still pretend to be in Dumbledore's pockets. You're more useful here, the first thing I need, the first thing I need all to do is help me with this guardianship issue. I have a plan that I'm pretty sure I can make Remus agree to once I explain everything to him"

"What plan?" Flitwick asked curiously

"I'm going to make him my guardian" Harry explained "I would choose one of you but then Dumbledore may just end up firing you, if he fires Remus then I could afford to keep paying him. While the ministry is very strict on letting werewolves around children I believe that if you four send in anonymous letters along with those memories, other than that one with Ginny of course, then it could work. Tell them what Dumbledore is planning to do, and how Remus is my father's friend, Sirus recommend if I ever needed help that I should contact Amelia Bones."

"I agree" McGonagall nodded "I know her, she is a very honest and hardworking woman"

"Brilliant" Harry continued "in your letters also recommend Remus, me and Ginny will also write a letter saying I want to be with Remus and how it's only temporary until Sirus is back on his feet. I'll also have to tell Sirus to write a letter of recommendation as well, I'm not suicidal anymore but I could put in that I'm 'considering drastic action' if I don't get my way and being the-boy-who-lived has it's perks. Unfortunately the news will likely become public knowledge, but what do I care, it's just more attention added on to what I've already got. If someone starts hunting the Dursley's then that's just a bonus"

"It's a shame you're not in my house" Snape, Flitwick and Sprout sighed, causing Ginny to giggle into Harrys arm.

"Tough luck" McGonagall looked at the others with a smug expression "I'm not sharing"

"Anyway" Harry chuckled "once your letters are all done then give them to me, I can have them brought to Miss Bones by flame or elf travel along with the other letters and the memories. I can also send in my bank details with them"

"Your bank details?" McGonagall raised an eye brow

"Yes it appears that for a certain number of years Dumbledore was paying the Dursley's with money from my account" Fury returned to the Professors face

"I can't tell if I hate him more than Voldermort or not" Snape growled

"Trust me when I say that you're not the only one who's angry" Harry matched his growl "but we have to put up with him for now, write in a journal or go for runs or whatever you need to do to get rid of your anger but for god sakes act normal in front of the old goat.

I had years ago managed to close the account and remove Dumbledore as my guardian from a Gringotts stand point. I'll probably have to ask for a statement from Griphook, the Goblin in charge of my vaults. I can also charge Dumbledore with purposefully sealing my parents will and taking the Potter family pensive, add all that together then Dumbledore will be overwhelmed. I've also been trying to arrange for the Dursley's to be taken to court for the longest time but I know that Dumbledore's been trying to stop that.

With all of this even he can't stop me, he'll lose a lot of respect and maybe even his chair as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot"

"But I thought you said you wanted to keep him at Hogwarts" Sprout pointed out "won't this get him kicked out"

"I'm sure Harry has thought of that" Ginny interrupted

"Yes I have" Harry replied "even with all of this it would take the ministry a while to do anything about Dumbledore running the school, he has too many favors and connections and unless we have enough students complain we won't advance on that front. It will however make things more difficult for him and even a brilliant mind doesn't work well if it's stressed"

"Potter if you keep this up then I may just have to request you be transferred into my house" Snape smiled

"Like I said" McGonagall replied "I'm not sharing"

"Dumbledore would be put on thin ice and lose a lot of his supporters" Harry continued, ignoring the two "there may even be more investigations into what he's done and I might get more time to think about what I'd do after. This is the hard part, you five will attend the trial but you'll be on Dumbledore's side."

"What?" The group collectively shouted

"Hear me out" Harry spoke calmly "we need to convince him your still firmly on his side or he'll fire you or do something worse, as for you Ginny he'll probably get your mum to go overboard on you. We could handle that but I'd prefer it if we do that at another date. When you go in there you'll be unsure, you'll claim that I'm an honest boy but you'll also think that I'm just confused and angry at Dumbledore. Say just enough for him to believe your loyalty and not expect you of having sent those letters.

Ginny your letter needs to be anonymous as well, in court you'll be supportive of me as it'll be out of character for you not to be. Naturally I'd publicly 'forgive' you later but in court you'll have doubts and be unsure, just enough to please your mother and Dumbledore so they don't try to split us up"

"Split you up?" Flitwick growled once more

"Yeah" Ginny answered him "if I don't keep Harry in 'the light' then Dumbledore and mum will try to keep away out of fear of me pushing him to the other side or him doing the same to me. Listen I know it'll be hard to act like you still like Dumbledore but if Harry can do it then so can the rest of us" A silence filled the room

"Very well" McGonagall spoke for the group "we shall do those letters and get back to you, perhaps later we can continue to discuss how we should act in court"

"Thank you" Harry wiped away a tear, the Professors stood and they all walked out of the Headmasters office

"Where is Albus anyway?" Snape asked

"While you were looking at my past I spent some time delaying Albus" Harry spoke, everyone looked intrigued so he continued "I may have hid during his meeting and cast a few minor hexes at the minister" Their eyes expanded in shock but Harry wasn't done

"Eventually he got furious and thought Dumbledore was playing some sort of joke on him, he left, presumably to get some new clothes and a new hat then go to St Mungo's to fix his nose" Everyone raised an eyebrow "nothing harmful or permanent I assure you, but then when Dumbledore was walking up here, a well-placed tripping spell and he fell down the stairs and broke his hip."

"You broke the headmaster's hip?" Ginny didn't know if she should laugh or not, the others appeared to be having the same internal debate

"I did not" Harry answered "the stairs did, I just assisted them. Besides Madam Pomfrey is so good that I estimate he could be out of there by the end of the day if she didn't insist that he stay. I also took the opportunity to relieve some anger and give the headmaster some additional work"

"Additional work?" Snape asked, this would be good. The others also had given Harry their complete attention.

"First I went to the quidditch pitch, I wanted to cause some damage but not enough to cause the games to be cancelled so I destroyed a hoop, I then destroyed one on the opposite side to keep it fair. Lets see, then I went to the divination classroom and I wrecked it"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this and not punishing you" McGonagall wanted to appear angry but was too amused "do tell me why you chose the divination class room?"

"Well we all know she's a fake" Harry shrugged "besides it'll keep Dumbledore busy and it's payback because I'm tired of hearing about how she keeps predicting my death to the other students, perhaps her student would wonder why she didn't predict her class room getting destroyed. I also went into the history classroom and to say I destroyed it would be an understatement, I don't think Bins noticed though.

Oh and fair warning I placed a ward on the teachers room that will randomly stop a random teacher from entering, I keyed you all into it though so you won't have to worry about it and I blew up a random class room and before you say anything it wasn't one of yours and it was an unused class room. I also made sure nobody saw me."

"Just to sum up" Snape spoke "you've basically damaged the school in a way that will take months to prepare and your planning to pile that on Albus along with the court thing"

"Yep" Harry nodded "maybe he'll be so overworked that he forgets to fire Lupin, even if he does it's just more work finding a new defense professor. He may just end up giving it to you for the rest of the year Professor Snape"

"So you're hoping he put on enough stress to lead him to death?" Ginny joked, Harry was about to laugh but then he actually thought about it

"No but if it works then brilliant" He smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Aggravating Ron, pink hair and court results

Harry and Ginny were accompanied back to the common room by Professor McGonagall, the later had found a level of respect for Harry that she had never even found in Dumbledore or anyone really. Ginny had one hand in Harrys and grabbed the same arm with her other arm. Seeing those memories made her love triple at least, the fact that her boyfriend who wanted to marry her in the future had labelled her as his sole reason for living made her for lack of a better word, happy.

She grew up with stories about him, but the real Harry was so much better than the story Harry, he was more real and despite his past he was happy, all thanks to her. She could repeat that thought all day without getting bored, as soon as they got to the common room the fat lady told them that a girl was shouting at the rest of the common room. Harry signalled McGonagall to be quiet before he and Ginny entered the common room, they entered to see Hermione shouting at the entire common room including a two teary first year boys. Everyone's attention turned to the two as they entered, the room fell silent.

"Hey you two" Harry spoke in a calm voice "come here" The teary first years nervously walked forward

"It's alright you're not in trouble" Ginny comforted them

"Even if you were it's not like we could do anything" Harry pointed out

"Don't tell them that" Ginny hissed "you know how hard it is to finally find two people younger than me that have to listen to me?" The two first years loosened up a little

"Is there a reason why your upset?" Harry spoke calmly, the two shook their head. "come on guys I won't say anything"

"Granger was shouting at them" Seamus informed him

"How come?" Harry rolled his eyes

"Those two and everybody else kept making noise while I was trying to study" Hermione spoke as if it was a justifiable excuse.

"Are you…" Ginny had to cover the first years ears so they didn't hear the Harry said "kidding me?"

"They shouldn't be making noise in the common room" Hermione argued

"It's the common room" Ginny raged and Harry took over in comforting the kids "it's for everyone to use, it's here for us to play and talk and hang out and yes study if we want! But it's for all of us and as long as we're not breaking rules then you can't tell us what to do, if you want to study that badly then go to your room, an unused classroom or the library! You know the library, a place for quiet learning!" The rest of the common room cheered and clapped for Ginny, even the two first years

"I agree" McGonagall entered "Mr Potter ten points for your language and Miss Granger, tomorrow you will stay behind after class and we shall discuss this incident. Fortunately for you I am too tired to discuss this with you today. You will not talk to Potter or Weasley for the rest of the day, is that understood?"

"Yes Professor" Hermione sadly nodded, McGonagall left and Hermione went to her room. The Gryffindor's cheered once more.

"Fred, George" Harry called and the twins answered

"Yes oh great one"

"How can we mere mortals assist you?"

"These two" Harry gestured towards the two first years "need some cheering up, show them a bit of fun"

"Yes sir" The two saluted before leading the first years away

"Alright I'm tired so I'm going to asleep" Harry turned to Ginny

"Me too" She kissed his cheek and the two headed up, Ginny was staying with Angelina and the other chasers so she didn't have to deal with Hermione for the year. Last year was bad enough with Hermione constantly asking questions about Harry. Harry went up to his bed and closed the curtains, he transfigured one of the pillows to look like a body, he placed a few charms on to prevent people from opening the curtains and used his two way mirror that Sirius had sent to explain everything to him.

He then flamed to Lupins office and did the same, it took some time to convince him but eventually he agreed. Harry returned feeling quite proud of himself, he changed the body back into a pillow and laid down. No sooner than he had he heard a voice entering.

"Oi Potter!" The voice spat, Harry didn't even know why but he removed the charms and opened his curtains "can I help you?" he asked politely

"What's your problem with Hermione?" Ron demanded

"Well she's bossy, loud, annoying, always follows me around and a few other things. Do you need a specific problem?"

"Why did you have to get her in trouble for?!" He spoke in the same tone

"I didn't, McGonagall was outside and we went in when we heard the noise. If Hermione wasn't doing anything worth punishing then she wouldn't be in trouble but she shouted at the whole common room and made those two boys cry. You think if I planned this that I'd get myself in trouble by swearing, I promise you I didn't plan on getting your girlfriend in trouble" 'At least not today' he thought

"She's not my girlfriend" Ron blushed

"Then how come you're the only one who is defending her? Now if you want to continue this argument then you'll have to do it tomorrow, I'm tired and I'm going sleep. Don't bother trying to open my curtains, I'm going to charm them shut and put a silencing charm on so don't bother calling my name. And I'll put a few defences on just in case you plan something, good night"

Harry closed the curtains and began doing what he said he would, fortunately for him Ron did plan something and he got to hear him yelp before he placed the silencing charm on. Harry went comfortably to sleep, not knowing Ron tried to get through nine times after that.

Ron didn't even go sleep that night, he stayed up with the determination of a god, waiting for Harry to come out. Dean, Seamus and Neville weren't worried, at least not for Harry, Ron couldn't handle a tired Harry at his best so there was no way a sleepy Ron could deal with Harry and they were right. The next morning Harry woke up and as soon as he walked to the door his roommates watched with anticipation as Ron ran to Harry with a closed fist.

Ginny walked down the stairs and found Ron laid unconscious on the floor of the boys steps with a cut lip, a missing tooth and a black eye and in nothing but pink boxers. She looked at the twins who were looking rather amused alongside Seamus and Dean.

"Harry?" She asked

"Harry" They nodded, Ginny could have sworn she saw Ron twitch when they said Harry

"He said he'll meet you in the great hall but first he, Neville and our beloved 'head boy' Percy went to explain everything to McGonagall" Seamus added "we'd go too but we figure you two could enjoy some time alone and someone needs to watch sleeping beauty over there"

"Also we wanted to see the girl's reactions to Ron" George added

"We're betting to see if Hermione starts crying then complains to McGonagall" Fred smirked

"Go on" Dean insisted "we'll make sure he gets medical attention"

"If you must" Ginny shrugged

"You know" Dean spoke once she left "if she didn't have six brothers and was in love with Harry, I'd probably ask her out"

"Be thankful you haven't" George smiled evilly

"Because if you had" Fred matched the smile

"hurt her"

"And you probably would"

"Seeing as you're a bit"

"of a prat"

"Then we would have to hurt you"

"And once we were done"

"We'd let the others have a turn"

"And that would all be after she was finished with you" Dean gulped while Seamus snickered at his reaction.

Ginny sat in the hall waiting for Harry, eventually he showed up and the two were having breakfast as if nothing had even happened. But eventually Ginny brought it up, she rather like to know what happened.

"Ron?" She said

"Ron" Harry replied and nothing more was said on that part of subject, she knew Harry despite wanting to would never hurt someone without a reason. And Ron being Ron was probably angry over what happened with Hermione.

"How'd you get away with going so overboard?" she asked

"First of all you know that's not overboard for me" Harry smiled "so does McGonagall, the others vouched that Ron attacked me first so I've got the self-defence excuse plus I used the 'it was so fast' and 'I didn't even know what happened because I was hyped on adrenaline' excuse. That seemed good enough for the Percy so it was good enough for the professor" Soon Hermione and a few other girls rushed up to Harry

"Why'd you do that to him?!" She demanded "why'd you have to hurt him so bad?"

"Self-defence" Harry answered in a robotic voice "it was so fast, I don't even know what happened because I was hyped on adrenaline" If Ginny wasn't such a good actor then she'd have burst out laughing

"Please don't give me that rubbish" Hermione roared and the others agreed

"Have you lot ever been in a fight?" Harry asked "and I don't mean a duel I mean an actual hand to hand fight" The girls shook their head

"Of course I haven't" Hermione spoke as if the insulation was an insult

"Then you have no idea what happens to you when you're in a fight" Harry spoke as if he was addressing children. "In a fight you don't stop until you're forced to stop or if your opponent can't fight anymore"

"Then why was Ron missing a tooth?" she asked

"Because I punched him"

"Why did he have a black eye?"

"I punched him twice"

"Why was his lip cut?"

"Probably from when his face crashed into my bedpost"

"Why was he nearly completely naked?"

"He's…not ashamed of his body?" Harry guessed "I don't know why he sleeps with barley anything on besides I don't know why you're complaining, I'm the one who had to clean the blood off my bedpost and I missed my morning workout…oh yeah and my girlfriends brother attacked me while he was nearly naked in my bedroom. Besides why do you care? Or is Ron actually your boyfriend?" Hermione blushed as the girls behind her began gossiping, she turned on Ginny.

"What about you?" She asked "he puts your brother in the hospital wing and you're still taking his side?"

"Listen up Granger" Ginny calmly replied "I know Harry better than I know Ron, I know he would never initiate an attack and I know he would never do any more than a person deserves. And sadly I do know Ron as well and I know that he had probably done something the night before, no doubt out of anger because you got in trouble, I'm going to assume it didn't work and that's why he attacked Harry"

"Right in one" Harry commented

"Thank you sweetie" She said before continuing "Harry's dorm mates and the twins all said that Ron attacked Harry, I think if he's stupid enough to attack Harry then he should consider himself fortunate that he's still breathing. Percy came up to me today and actually told me to thank Harry for not hurting him too much and how he's ashamed of what Ron has done. Him and the twins are writing a letter to mum"

"Along with McGonagall" Harry added

"Besides why are you going at Harry and not Ron when Ron's the one who broke the rules and attacked him?"

"I can't give him a hard time when he's recovering and you're saying Harry didn't break rules?!" She couldn't believe the words that were coming out of Ginny's mouth

"The difference between you and me Granger" Harry spoke between eating "is that you constantly obey the rules or break them completely whereas I stretch the rules to their limits but never beyond. That's why I never get in trouble and on the very rare occasion I do then I accept my punishment. You didn't see me whine when McGonagall took away points for my swearing"

"She only took ten points" Hermione pointed out

"That's because it'd be unfair to take away more" Ginny pointed out "she's strict but fair, ask anyone and they'll tell you the same thing. Well except most of the Slytherin's and other trouble makers. Anyway Harry used one curse word outside of class and that was in a highly emotional situation, one you caused by the way."

"Face it Herm" Harry purposefully annoyed her with her nickname that she didn't ask for "despite however much you wish we were in trouble so you could feel better, we're in the right"

"You think you're so smart?" She looked down on them

"Amongst over things" Harry smirked "intelligent, strong, good at magic, excellent at quidditch, the best in class"

"And devilishly handsome" Ginny added

"Yeah" The girls behind Hermione sighed, Harry winked and smiled at them, those who could still stand looked very flustered. Even Hermione felt a bit weak at the knees and the worst part was he was right, about all of those things.

"So you think you're better than all of us?" She attempted to continue in her rage

"Depends on the activity" Harry replied "Lavender is probably better than me at divination, the elves are better than me at cooking, the Patil twins are better at drawing and singing than me. I think a few people here are better than me in quite a few things however in class and quidditch then I'd say I'm the best and I'd stick with that until someone proves me wrong.

Once they do I'll actually try and put a little bit of effort into class and if they're still better than me then I'll actually try to succeed. After that then they can claim the title if they want"

"Wait you don't put effort into class?!" Hermione exclaimed "but…but why not?"

"Didn't feel the need to put any effort in, I get the job done so why should I bother?" The other girls stared at Harry in wonder and awe, if it wasn't such a daily occurrence then he'd find it uncomfortable."

"And" Ginny spoke "no one convince me that Harry isn't the most handsome boy in our year or the best dancer"

"Dancer?!" The girls shouted, gathering a bit of attention from the few people that were in the hall, but fortunately for Harry they didn't seem to see him between all the girls so they likely didn't care enough to pay interest

"You had to mention that?" Harry asked sarcastically

"You dance?" Parvati asked

"I do a little in private"

"A little in private" Ginny snorted "our first year he got to the platform early and because he was bored he played some music and started dancing in front of the muggles, he actually earned quite a bit of money from it."

"Thanks" Harry spoke through gritted teeth

"Hold on" Lavender interrupted "I remember seeing a boy with a black hat dancing, I wanted to get closer but mum and dad insisted I hurry up while all the muggles were distracted. You mean to tell me that that was you?"

"Unless there was another dancing boy that particular the day then yes that was me" Harry sighed in resignation

"So girls" Ginny spoke to the group "to sum up my boyfriend is not only the best in our class and the most powerful student our year, he's also the best looking, he works out, his rich, he knows how to clean, his quite romantic when he wants to be, he can cook, he gets along with kids and he's a great dancer. Add that on to the fact that he could beat nearly any muggle in a hand to hand fight and you can see why I don't want to let him go"

Harry blushed a little at Ginny's praise while the other girls felt quite jealous about the fact that Ginny was right, and they couldn't blame her for bragging. If Harry was their boyfriend then they'd be bragging to anyone who would listen, even Hermione would admit that, not to anyone but she'd still admit it.

"You know how to fight?" Hermione asked

"No" Ginny replied sarcastically "Ron got hurt because Harry asked him to stop too politely" She then looked to the rest of the girls and talked in a normal voice "you should see him when his doing all those fancy kicks and flips, he looks so graceful, it just takes your breath away. He also looks pretty hot when he does it

"I thought I was supposed to be the one who made you blush" Harry joked

"You do but let me have a turn for once"

"Ginny" Lavender spoke softly "what would it cost for you to let me borrow Harry for a week?"

"I don't know" Ginny pretended to think about it "that'd be a whole week without snogging, and with Harry being as good as he is I don't think I could last that long, it's quite addictive. We done it every day since the year started and I haven't gotten remotely bored. What about you Harry?"

"it's a few hundred years too early for me to get bored of that" Harry finished his food

"I'll pay you Ginny" Parvati interrupted

"Harry's the richest wizard in England so I think I'm fine" If possible the girls seemed even more infatuated with Harry

"Look at famous Harry Potter" Ron limped in

"What happened to your leg?" Ginny asked

"I sprained it when I went down the stairs" He growled

"Look" Harry interrupted "I know in your mind you've probably made it where everything is somehow my fault, but if you didn't attack me then I wouldn't have hurt you. However angry you were at the time doesn't count as an excuse as well, if you didn't attack me then you'd be walking without a limp, perfect vision and all of your teeth."

"He is right Ron" Parvati admitted

"Yeah" Lavender agreed "you're lucky Harry didn't get really angry or use magic, you saw what he did at the duelling club. Although you probably didn't seeing as he toyed with you and Malfoy for ten minutes before breaking your nose"

"You did attack Harry first Ron" Ginny sighed "and frankly you deserve what you got if you wanted to punch the guy who was still standing after getting slapped by a hippogriff"

"You know if I keep blushing my cheeks will burn" Harry joked

"Yeah go on then" Ron scowled "take perfect Potters side"

"I'm not perfect" Harry smiled "there are quite a few things wrong with you know, for example my right arm is slightly longer than my left"

"I am so tired of your jokes" Ron growled "everything's just fine for you isn't it? Perfect Potter and his perfect life, everything's just goes your way doesn't it? Money, fame, handsome, being good in class and now you've got all these girls fawning over you. I bet you never had to work for anything in your life!" Ginny had grabbed her wand, she was going to give Ron her strongest bat bogey when she saw the cold look in Harrys eyes, when she realised that he was doing his best not to destroy Ron and the castle she decided her time would be better spent doing damage control if needs be.

"You listen and you listen good Weasley" Harry spoke in such a cold and low voice that even the girls shivered "you never try or even care about class so don't blame me if I do better at it than you, I've worked Hard to get to my level of magic now. I learnt how to fight to defend myself, I constantly practise to improve, I learnt to cook because I could have ended up in hospital if I didn't"

"Hospital?" Ron asked

"My muggle relatives" Harry spoke "they made me spend the first few years of my life living in a cupboard, my only possessions were my fat cousins old clothes, his old broken toys and a bucket so I didn't waste their toilet paper" The girls all gasped in shock, Ron had a slightly guilty look but he still hadn't gotten the picture yet so Harry continued "if I was lucky they feed me three times a day with bread and water, my only friends the whole time I was living in that bloody cupboard were the spiders"

"S..Spiders?" Ron blurted out, everyone knew he was deathly afraid of them

"Yeah, it's hard to be afraid of them when they're the only ones in the bloody house who wouldn't hurt me. If I didn't clean and cook and do whatever they wanted then it was a broken bone and a full day in the cupboard, sometimes they'd do it just for fun. No birthdays presents, no Christmas, no life. They actually praised each other, they probably were betting who could break more bones.

Just pain, chores and that bloody cupboard, that was my entire life until I discovered magic and ran away. I don't even remember how long it took me to fix all the damage they did to me, broken bones and starvation, sometimes I still have night mares about it. My first hug actually came from Ginny, she was the first person who touched me without wanting to hurt me or wanting anything in return" All the girls couldn't help feel guilty for wanting to take him away from Ginny, at least when they weren't angry at Ron for being an insensitive git, even Hermione felt bad for him.

"You ever wished for death Ron?" Harry asked as if it was just common breakfast conversation "I have, I remember attempting to kill myself at least twice" All the girls gasped, even Ron was stuck with his mouth in an o shape.

"You…you wanted to kill yourself?" He blurted out

"Yeah" Harry's voice went colder as he rose so he could look Ron face to face "would've worked both times if my magic didn't heal my body. Now listen to me you insufferable, insensitive idiot. My money did a fat lot of good to me when I preferred jamming a knife in my stomach to living another day in that bloody cupboard, my fame didn't do good when my relatives told all the muggles that I was the bad boy and blamed me for whatever my cousin did.

If you think the fact that you can't do anything in public without getting noticed is great, then by all means take my place. I only got my fame because of a stupid scar and the fact that my parents died at the hands off a madman, if you really want that then go to the daily prophet and claim you did it. My handsome looks weren't doing me any good when I my cousin and uncle were taking turns punching my face, and for your information I wasn't good in class all the time. If I ever did good at school then I'd get the pleasure of being called a cheater and beaten when I got home.

It's really hard to pretend to be worse than my cousin, especially since he can't spell to save his life. I'm finally good at something, and I'm not letting anyone tell me not to b just so they can feel better about themselves" That last part was directed just as much to Hermione as it was to Ron and everyone picked up on it

"As for having girls fawning over me, I have to admit I'm more surprised than you seeing as I used to be a scrawnier little twig for all those years, besides why would I care when I have Ginny. Money and fame, that's what you want right?"

"Uh…Yeah?" Ron wasn't even sure if that was right

"You wanted that all your life? That's why your jealous of me? Funny considering you have everything I've always wanted, a loving family full of people who take care of you. Constant food and constantly having someone of your own to care for you, Ginny told me all about what your mum and dad do if you misbehave, I'd gladly swap because even the occasional slap or hex seems like child play compared to what would happen to me if I spilt my uncles tea.

You have a home, people who care for you and a family so I hope you understand how stupid I find the fact that you're fussed over me having more money and being famous? I know all about every brother of yours, you know I do. Bill the ex-head boy and current curse breaker, Charlie who works with dragons after being quidditch captain, Percy the prefect and head boy who plans to work at the ministry, while there's also the twins who are known as two of the funniest and best pranksters in Hogwarts."

"What's your point?" Ron was rather nervous and hoped Harry would start taking it easy on him

"You're jealous of them as well" Alas, it wasn't meant to be "anybody could see it. Even Ginny, only girl and second best in class. You can't blame her for being a girl, even wizards know there's only a fifty per cent chance of a baby being a girl, so it's really just a coin flip. Not her fault the coin landed on boys six times before her"

"Yeah but.."

"Interrupt me again" Harrys voice upgraded from cold to deadly "and you'll be the first Weasley boy to turn into a girl permanently. Like I was saying, her gender is not really her fault but she got to where she is because of her hard work and determination. Contrary to your belief the teachers don't help her in class, because she spend a lot of time practising with me, she worked hard and earned her place with dedication and focus." Ron actually raised his hand out of fear of what would happen if Harry decided he was interrupting him again

"What?" Ron lowered his hand

"Well, Hermione tries her best but she's not at the top"

"Didn't you hear the part about dedication and 'focus'?" Harry sighed "if she wasn't too busy trying to be the best and just did her best then she could be a lot better, but even a blind man could tell that in class all her focus is on beating me and Ginny"

"That's not…" Hermione made to interrupt but Ginny wouldn't allow it

"Are you really going to deny it?" She asked, even the girls besides Hermione raised an eyebrow, she wisely sunk into silence

"As I was saying" Harry continued "the one thing Ginny and your brothers have in common is they worked hard to get to where they are and where they wanted to go. They put effort into class, other than the twins at least but they at least had the decency to not blame their academic failures on others. They tried the best and when things went wrong they didn't go in a strop like a five year old and blame the rest of the world and those had succeeded. You may not realise how much you sounded like Malfoy when you were talking" Ron looked absolutely insulted, not only was he compared to the spoilt Slytherin but the others seemed to be in agreement, well except for Hermione as she was still sulking

"The people who blame other people for what goes wrong in your life are usually the ones who stay behind. Either try your best or live knowing that you didn't, either way stop complaining, if I wanted to talk to a child then I'd find one." Ginny knew Ron was considering his words until that lost comment, she knew that his anger and pride where what would probably do him in one day. From what she knew about Harry she knew that he also knew, in his eyes this was probably a test of character, one that Ron had failed.

"I'm not a child!" He roared

"Aren't you?" Harry raised an eyebrow "you're complaining about me being better off at you in certain points in life without being appreciative of your own, you whine and complain when things go your way and you even attacked me because you were upset then complained when it didn't work. What's next, you going to blame Dumbledore for being more powerful than you?" Speaking off a letter landed in Dumbledore's lap just as he entered and sat down.

"That's probably the court letter" Ginny guessed

"What court letter?" Hermione asked

"Until Sirius gets approved by the ministry to take care of me, Dumbledore is my legal guardian as he's the headmaster and I have no other guardian" Harry explained "I wrote a letter to the court saying I want Remus Lupin to be my guardian instead, shame he has to tell people he's a werewolf."

"Lupins a werewolf?" Ron shivered "why one earth would you rather have him as your guardian?"

"Because unlike you I don't care if he has to transform once a month, plus besides, Dumbledore the one who out me with my muggle relatives in the first place and wants me to go back to them and I'm going to death before I do that, even though if I do I'd probably end there anyway" Harry and Ginny walked off leaving the stunned crowd behind, he heard Dumbledore calling him but pretended not to hear him.

"I'm sorry" Harry whispered "I shouldn't have told them all that"

"It's alright Harry, you were angry"

"No that's not what I mean, we need to change the plan slightly, you're not going to testify"

"What? Why?" Ginny asked

"Because before we could barley pull of you not agreeing with me in court but after all of that we can't so you're going to want to 'stay out of this', in private you'll tell your mother that you care for me but don't really want to go against Dumbledore in private. You'll cry on her shoulder and talk about how you wanted to believe me but couldn't, then you'll go on with some rubbish about how if you'd realise then you would have stopped me. If possible then convince your mother that your making progress on me wanting to join the light side, maybe tell her you stopped me from practising evil spells or argued against me if I remotely even suggested agreeing. Can you do all that?"

"I'm not the twins hidden prankster for no reason you know" Ginny smiled "if I can convince Ron that the spiders prefer to gravitate towards girls at night then I can convince her of all that, besides, I'd do anything for you"

"I love you too" Harry kissed her cheek "you tell the change of plan to Flitwick and Sprout while then do the same for Snape, Remus and McGonagall, as soon as possible. Call Stink and Dobby to help spread the message, do it quickly so you don't get caught, while you're doing that I'll go back into the great hall to get that bag I 'forgot' to take with me. Perhaps Dumbledore is still there." Ginny smirked as Harry returned to the hall, Dumbledore was halfway down the Gryffindor table when he noticed Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione standing there with spiky pink hair and the rest of the hall laughing. What was funnier was the longer your hair was the higher up the hair spiked, that was probably why Dumbledore with his hair was now at least ten foot, the fact that there were more students there then just a minute ago made things even more brilliant

"Privacy charms" Harry explained as he rushed over and grabbed his bag out of the headmasters hand "you two really shouldn't be looking through another students bag, you could get detention for that and headmaster, I'm ashamed of you. Your spreading a bad example to these kids"

"Harry" Harry loved when Dumbledore's twinkle was replaced with rage, it gave him a very satisfied feeling "would you care to explain this letter I received?"

"Certainly" Harry grinned "you want to be my guardian but I don't want you to be. Because you want to put me with my abusive magic-hating muggle relatives" Harry said that last part loud enough for everyone to hear, before continuing in his normal confident voice "I however would rather die, now as that's a bit extreme I've gone for the next option after running away, I'm going to have someone else file to be my temporary guardian and you have to attend the court matter tomorrow"

"Who may I ask?" Everyone knew Dumbledore was demanding to know

"Me" Remus calmly walked in and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder

"Remus?" Dumbledore couldn't believe it

"Yes, I cannot in good conscious stand by and allow you to send Harry back to those muggles. Truth be told I've lost a lot of respect for you as well, which is why I have no problem with allowing Harry to charge you from stealing from his account and aiding in child abuse"

"How dare you?!" Dumbledore bellowed "after all I've done?! I'm the one who allowed you into school and I gave you a job when no one else wouldn't!"

"Yes" Remus replied "and I'm sure the fact that my parents were paying you well for it and the fact that I was the only one willing to take the position had nothing to do with it. Now I shall see you tomorrow, me and Harry have to go and prepare for court. If you don't wish for me to continue as a teacher then leave a letter in my office and I'll come and collect my things the day after court, goodbye" With that the two walked out, not before Dumbledore had one more thing to say

"Harry, please remove this" He gestured to his spiky hair

"Sorry Professor" Harry smiled broadly "that lasts a week a week"

"A week?!" He exclaimed "but the court matter is tomorrow"

"Don't blame me, I'm not the one who made that particular defence, the one's I made were a lot less fun. Some funny, but not as fun. See you tomorrow"

"Wait, you can't leave, as your guardian I am ordering you to stay"

"Actually he can" Remus looked at him smugly "when a child's custody is in question then according to the law he has no guardian until the court points one, now as Harry can do what he wants and the fact that he's doing it with a teacher means he can leave the grounds. I bid you goodbye" The two hurried out before Dumbledore could say anything.

Tomorrow came the day of the trial, Harry was feeling pretty confident, especially since he may have slid the minister a couple of hundred galleons. He also managed to make evidence of the fact that he had done so in case Fudge becomes a problem later. Before he got to the trial however Harry was amazed when a demntor came by, it was following an auror, and everyone felt cold. Everyone but Harry at least, the dementor stopped by him, everyone presumed it had gone rouge and was about to attack. But then it surprised everyone by turning to Harry and bowing it's head, Harry bowed back and the Dementor went along with it's business.

At the trial everything went just as Harry expected, Dumbledore argued that Harry wasn't in the right state of mind to make this choice and how Remus couldn't look after him. The teachers and Ginny also played their parts. Harry made his arguments, that combined with the letters and pensive memories put the court firmly in Harry's favour.

Dumbledore had to use all of his achievements, resources and favours owed to reduce the damage caused. Eventually it was agreed that he would be removed from the position of chief warlock, all those he had guardianship over would become under the guardianship of the ministry unless someone else takes them, he'd also have to pay one thousand galleons for each year that Harry had spent there, another three thousand for taking their pensive and a thousand for any other additional items they found that belonged to the Potters.

He'd also have to return the pensive and any other items he had taken from the Potters, and all of his possessions would be checked to make sure there his and not the Potters by specialist goblins who can determine the fact by checking the magic surrounding it. Magic reading was dead useful, Harry used it all the time, and at the very least the bright colours entertained him.

Dumbledore was allowed to remain headmaster but he was put on probation until further notice and if the court heard a single complaint about a matter concerning him outside of school then he'd be fired. Needless to say, only the most loyal of his followers remained supporting him. Including one Molly Weasley, who due to a combination of the court results and what Ginny had said had told her not to invite him to the burrow until she fully manages to convince him.

Eventually Ginny managed to change her mind by convincing her it'd be easier if Harry spent all his time around a light family and that the family abandoning him could result in him getting pushed further into the dark and away from Dumbledore. Soon Remus and Harry went celebrating with Sirius, soon the day ended and the two returned to Hogwarts as expected Remus was fired and Harry was called back to Dumbledore's office.

"Yes sir" He entered, finding an irate Dumbledore sitting in his chair

"Sit" he ordered

"I'd rather stand" Harry insisted

"Fine" Dumbledore gritted his teeth "I'd like to ask you some questions, the first one is why you felt the need to do this?"

"If what you saw at court didn't fill you in then I doubt any explanation I give could help"

"That was the best place for you" Dumbledore growled

"Not really" Harry's lips curved up "the best place for me to grow up wanting a saviour like the grand Dumbledore maybe, or the best place for you to keep an eye in me. Now before you decide to continue with your questioning I'd like you to imagine what would happen if the next prophet article has the headline 'Dumbledore unsympathetic to Harry Potters childhood trauma'."

"Very well" Dumbledore sighed "my second question is where you're living, as headmaster I want to know and you will tell me."

"I rather not and your rights as headmaster do not permit you to force this topic seeing as it's not school related. Now unless there are further questions I'd like leave, me and my girlfriend need to have a discussion about why she didn't testify at court. Excuse me"

"Two more" Dumbledore spoke "I'm told a Dementor bowed to you, is this true and if so then why?"

"Yes it's true and no I don't know why, maybe it was just polite. Now goodbye"

Harry left leaving Albus in thought, at least Miss Weasley was still firmly in the light, according to her mother and Harry she didn't testify. She didn't seem to be the sort of girl who would lie to her mother, as for Harry Dumbledore was quite worried, mostly because unlike with other people he could never tell if Harry was telling the truth or not. However the boy in two days cost him nearly all of his money and made things incredibly more difficult, Dumbledore couldn't even do anything more to Remus or Black to stop them from being Harry's guardian. At least his staff supported him but it didn't help much.

He had managed to fire Remus because he was revealed to be a werewolf but he couldn't harm him or Black as that would raise questions, and the worst part is Harry wasn't living with the two. He still had no idea where Harry lived, the place could be useful for the order and Harry was also outside of Dumbledore's reach. Dumbledore couldn't even find the letter box that the owls sent the letters to and he suspected heavily that it probably transported the letters directly to his house or to another letter box. That seemed like the kind of thing that Harry would do. If he wasn't so important Dumbledore would have got rid of the cocky arrogant brat.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – Potions, spies and a warning

"Remus 'Mooney' Lupin" Sirus looked at his friend with pride after watching the recent viewing of Harry's life "you actually stood up to Dumbledore!"

"I…guess I did?" Remus shrugged "still can't believe that"

"I'm proud of you Remus" Lilly spoke softly "so proud that I'll let you hex Dumbledore after me and James are done, that old bastard, how dare he do that?!"

"Lilly, did you just swear?" Padfoot asked in amazement

"Padfoot" Remus spoke as if he was addressing a child "she just saw a person we all trusted try to send her son back somewhere where he wanted to die and commit suicide, I think she's allowed to swear"

"I suppose" Padfoot agreed "sorry Lil, but I will say this, your son is a bloody genius"

"I know" James agreed "my little boy played Dumbledore and the entire court the way he wanted, no one took Dumbledore seriously once he entered the court with spiky five four feet pink hair"

"Another prank we should remember" Remus added "I am however worried about what would happen if Granger or Ginny's brother tries something"

"I'm not worried about the prat" James waved his hand "the only reason Harry hasn't dealt with yet is because he cares for Ginny, once the two are alright then he'll put him in his place. As for Granger, she's smart but she ain't no marauder"

"Hear hear" Sirius agreed "I still can't believe the fact that he's only thirteen yet he still has more girls chasing after him than all of us combined, that's including you Lilly, yet he only cares for Ginny. Ignoring my jealousy for a second even I have to admit that's really nice"

"I still can't believe that Granger told her parents she was dating Harry" Lilly growled "I still think she's going to try something but I'm confident Harry will get the better of her"

"Don't worry Lil" James consoled her "if Harry could take a Hippogriff slap to the head and still be able to scare the crap out of the Malfoys then he'd be able to handle whatever she can bring. Now come on, I want to watch more"

"Oh yes" Sirius clapped his hands in agreement as they all continued watching.

Harry was sat in the common room and was filling Ginny and the twins in on what happened at court before it made the news.

"Oh and they brought the Dursley's in" Harry said with a smile "my aunt and cousin looked like they were about to wet themselves but my uncle looked furious, naturally in his anger he admitted to everything and proceeded to call everyone there a 'freak'. Him and my aunt were sentenced to Azkaban whilst my cousin would have parts of his memory erased and be sent to a juvenile rehabilitation establishment, so pretty much where he bet I would have gone."

"So you never have to live with the Dursley's again?" Ginny hugged him along with the twins

"Nope" Harry smiled as wide as possible "even if they somehow get out of Azkaban there is no way that anyone is going to label them as fit to care for a child, and the fact that an anonymous letter detailing what happened was sent to a muggle/wizard news company along with the Daily Prophet means even the muggles know how bad they are." Soon the four broke off and began playing exploding Snap.

"What about your mum?" Harry asked

"I convinced her that me and the twins are 'working' on you" Ginny smiled

"That's my girl" Harry said shortly before the four all went down to lunch, Dumbledore came in and walked to his seat. He smiled at Harry as if the last few days never happened. Harry ignored him and continued eating, that was when he realised his drink felt off. Funnily enough at that moment Cho walked in, Harry noticed that Cho looked quite good.

He liked the way she smiled and dressed, a little too much actually, he shook his head and with a discreet wave of his wand he found something very disturbing and immediately stopped Ginny from drinking, he checked her cup and hers was fine. A quick mind read later and Harry stood up and looked at Cho was looking at him in anticipation

"Hey Cho" He shouted from across the hall whilst raising his glass "nice love potion, it's really good"

"Love potion?!" Ginny stood up and aimed her wand at Cho, fortunately for her Snape and McGonagall came by

"What's going on here?" Snape asked

"Cho's been brewing love potions" Harry handed him the cup, he figured it would be best if he did the talking as Ginny looked too furious to talk "I must say it's not bad, would have worked as well if I was anyone else" Snape sniffed the goblet

"Yes I must agree"

"So that is a love potion?" McGonagall asked before turning on Cho "Miss Chang I am highly disappointed in you, you'll go straight to your dorm and wait there until someone comes to deliver your punishment" Cho, naturally cried, before walking off.

"Mr Potter, I get the feeling that you'll end up in another meeting with the headmaster soon, be prepared" Naturally McGonagall was right, Harry was called to his office where he was waiting along with Snape, Flitwick and Cho.

"Hi everyone" Harry greeted as he sat down, fortunately for Cho Harry had told Ginny not to come in case tempers flared and he still needed to convince Dumbledore that she was on his side. "so we all know why we're here and I'd like to know what the punishment would be? Seeing as the incident made Ginny upset I had got her brothers to stay with her, so what are we going to do make up for the fact that my sole reason to live is upset"

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke first, he was rather interested in Harrys claim about Ginny, he was rather fortunate that he didn't try to break the two up "while we can all agree that Miss Chang deserves punishment for breaking the rules, I believe we shouldn't be too harsh as this is a first time offence and an failed one at that"

"Headmaster I don't think it matters if it failed or not" Harry sighed "the action was committed and the intent was there"

"Come now Harry, we don't even know it was Cho"

"Yes I do" Harry confidently replied "she walks in right as I'm drinking it and the potion has the same smell as her perfume, pretty obvious"

"I'd have to agree with Potter" Snape added "this potion was clearly made by the girl, either that or she had someone make it for her"

"What I'd like to know is why?" Flitwick asked, the poor man felt like he doubled in age

"I don't know why I'm the only one in trouble" Cho cried "clearly Ginny was using one as well, there's no way Potter would be as in love with her when he could have had me"

"You're not the smartest bird in the nest are you?" Harry sneered at her, Snape was rather impressed by Harry's sneer technique, it was even better than his "I'm with Ginny for the person she is, the fact that I think she's the best looking girl in school is just a bonus, as for love potions I met her in my first year and we became a couple in my second on the train ride over. So she had neither the capabilities or time to make a love potion, besides one thing Ginny has over you is the fact that she doesn't cry all the time"

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke

"Listen sir" Harry interrupted "frankly I think you should offer her the same treatment as we did to Corner, because if you don't then I may just have to take matters into my own hands and you may not like that"

"Are you threatening me?" Dumbledore summoned every ounce of will power not to seem angry

"No, I just want you to remember I have a wide variety of actions to choose from if this isn't dealt with properly, now it's really just a matter of which would be better for getting my point across. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go to transfigurations, good bye" Harry stood up and left, Dumbledore and Cho were too busy stating at his exit to notice the curved lips of Snape and Flitwick.

Harry soon got to the common room and told Ginny and the twins exactly what he had said to Dumbledore, his story earned him a kiss from Ginny and a bow from the twins. Unfortunately for them Hermione heard, and walked over.

"I can't believe you said all that to Dumbledore!" The entire common room looked towards them, they couldn't help but enjoy the interactions between Hermione and Harry. They enjoyed seeing him put her in her place, it was always just a matter of how he was going to do it.

"I can't believe that you're still willing to talk to me but still, here we are"

"Harry you should show the headmaster some respect" She scolded

"You should mind your own business" Harry calmly 'suggested' "what happened at the court is common knowledge by now so don't expect me to even want to be in the same building as him, second of all Cho tried to use a love potion on me and Dumbledore wanted to let her off easy"

"I'm sure he had a good reason" Hermione argued

"Yeah your right Hermione, I can forgive him for ruining my life because he had a good reason that he's not telling me. Unfortunately for him I've worked out why he did what he did"

"How could you have?" She asked

"Well Hermione" Harry smiled "you see in-between my ears is this thing, I believe it's called a brain. Apparently the better brains can work things out quicker, and apparently, mine's really good." Harry continued despite Ginny and the twins snickering "Now I sadly can't say the same for you, please for the love of god or in your case books, please leave me alone" No sooner than Hermione had left the four began conversing, half an hour later Ron came and started shouting at Harry

"Why can't you just leave her alone?!" Harry stood up and looked him in the eyes, Ron didn't even notice he took a step back when he saw Harrys green eyes looking at him as if he was looking into his soul. The others again watched in anticipation

"I did" Harry spoke slowly "I was talking with my friends when she came over and started bothering us, I told her to leave us alone. You know my friends, three of the better members of the Weasley clan. Though I suppose for you that might be confusing as all the other members of the Weasleys are better than you" Everyone oohed and started chuckling, Fred and George even had to cover each other's mouths to stop the other from laughing, no one wanted to make too much noise as they just wanted to watch.

"Don't worry Ron, being the first Weasley not to do or be anything important is still an accomplishment, not one that you'd want as it alerts people to your shortcomings, but then again you have so many anyway that it would be impossible not to notice"

"SHUT UP POTTER!" Ron roared, Harry knew he had hit a soft spot, and frankly as long as Ginny didn't care then neither did he, he took a quick glance at Ginny and realised she was still trying not to cover her smile. Ron however took his misunderstood his moment of looking away as fear, like an idiot. "You don't talk to me like that!"

"Or what?" Harry raised his eyebrow "are you going to get one of your brothers to do something, maybe if you're really desperate then Ginny will help you or perhaps you'd rather be known as the Weasley who lost more fights than the others?" Ron clenched his fist and threw a punch at Harry.

Soon Professor McGonagall found herself lead to the Hospital wing by the twins, Ron was laid unconscious on one of the beds with another missing tooth, this time his other eye was the black one, he had a cut above his forehead that was shaped suspiciously like a lightning bolt and a bruise on his right cheek.

"Harry?" She asked

"Harry" They nodded

"The letters have already been sent to mum" George explained

"Harry and Ginny wanted us to let you know that they're having a walk" Fred added

"Probably to relieve themselves of the tension"

"They said they'll meet you up later today after their last lesson of the day"

"Thank you" McGonagall thanked the boys before walking off

As expected Ron was back on his feet the next day thanks to the miracle that was Madam Pomfrey and he was given a week of detentions to serve alongside Hermione with Filch. The two were moping the floors at night whilst Filch and his cat Mrs Norris watched them.

"Great" Ron grumbled "I have to come and clean the bloody halls all because of stupid Potter"

"Oi" Filch yelled "I had better not here any of you ungrateful brats insulting Potter" Filch would admit he hated pretty much everyone at Hogwarts but Potter was the one exception, the boy treated him with respect and did his best never to make a mess for Filch to clean up. And when he did he'd do it himself, the boy made Filch's job a lot easier. The fact that he also brought cat treats for Mrs Norris helped in his opinion.

"I can't believe this" Hermione whispered once Filch had gone and their detention had finished for the night.

"I know" Ron whispered back "first Snape and all the teachers but now he's even got Filch to like him!"

"What I don't understand is why? What could possibly make him want to befriend Filch? Filch isn't powerful and from what I've heard he's a squib and nobody ever wanted to get to know him"

"That's because his a git" Ron replied "but it doesn't make sense to me either, why waste time on filch"

"Well I have a theory but it is a little bit ridiculous" Hermione looked at the face that Ron gave her and continued "well just hear me out before you say anything. Harry was supposed to be Muggle raised like me but somehow he managed to come to school and perform at a level far beyond any first year should be able to.

In first year he not only befriends Ginny but the two also become hopelessly devoted to each other, he also steals Dumbledore's Phoenix, he may say he didn't but he basically did. He has more elves than a pureblood, some of which he told to work with the other elves who now want to work with him. He also jumped over all the first years at the sorting ceremony and got past all of Dumbledore's traps and defeated Quirrell and killed him, even more impressive is the fact that the rumours say he was possessed by you-know-who. I also find the fact that he lied to your mother at the end of the year to be interesting as well.

In our second year, even though I have to admit I was wrong about Lockhart, he still disrespected him and I know he was behind all of those pranks.

He also for some reason wanted your dad to show the spell on Scabbers and then he ended up becoming revealed as Peter Pettigrew. He also duelled with you two if it was second nature and when Malfoy pissed him off he nearly killed him. Frankly if it wasn't for Ginny then he probably would have, that leads me to the two more things. Why would Lockhart suddenly reveal all of his secrets? Maybe he was forced to and my second thing is Ginny"

"Ginny?" Ron asked

"Yes" Hermione sighed "from what you've told me she's been a big Harry Potter fan since she was a kid then suddenly they meet on the train and become best friends and she's right behind him in pretty much everything from classes to pranks. Then they become boyfriend and girlfriend and Harry acts like he has no other purpose in life other than making her happy."

"That is a bit weird" Ron agreed

"And that brings me on to this year. What's happened so far? So far this year he's managed to overcome the effects of a love potion, take a hit from a Hippogriff and lift Malfoy into the air with one arm. Not exactly normal is it? Rumours say that he was also the one who stopped Lucius Malfoy from complaining and getting Hagrid sacked. And he actually takes Dumbledore himself to court right when half the castle gets damaged when we're in lessons! That's not the only weird things I've noticed.

He's comfortable with Remus being a werewolf, he can go up the girls stairs, everyone and I mean nearly everyone except us two and a few Slytherin's are too in love with to notice everything and no one knows where he lives. Harry Potter the boy who was supposed to be kind and heroic but he's not, he is arrogant, rich, confident and has more secrets than a diary"

"What? You think Harry's dark?"

"No, not dark but something is off. I know he has secrets and there are too many questions for me to answer when it comes to him. I think we should try and keep an eye on him just in case we need to stop him from going dark. Though to be fair I doubt we could physically stop him"

"What do you mean?" Ron asked

"Ron Harry's beat you up twice this year and survived a slap from creature that is half eagle and half horse, and whether we want to admit it or not, he is the strongest when it comes to magic. If anything happens then we should go straight to Dumbledore"

"Agreed" Ron shook his head.

The two walked on, not noticing the spider hanging on the wall besides them. The spider hurried after them, once they opened the room to the common room the spider snuck in. Harry and Ginny had fallen asleep together on the couch, they were covered in a blanket and to anyone but Ron and Hermione the two looked adorable.

Ron scowled and Hermione had to force him upstairs, she knew that if Harry was taken off guard then he'd probably get angry and not hold back. Admittedly she also knew that he was probably never taken off guard, she just didn't want to carry Ron to the hospital wing at night"

As soon as they were gone, Harry and Ginny opened their eyes, both weren't the slightest bit tired. The spider rappelled from the ceiling into Harry's hand.

"I still can't believe you can talk to snakes and spiders" Ginny whispered

"I had to learn if I ever wanted a conversation" Harry whispered "plus they spied on the Dursley's for me, how else did you think I knew my aunt and uncle cheated on each other"

"Yeah but with the ghosts, suits of armour, portraits and spiders you've basically got spies all over Hogwarts."

"True" Harry acknowledged "but I've told them to only bring news concerning me or you, now tell me what you've learnt" The spider relayed his information and Harry repeated it to Ginny. Just before they consider a plan, Stink arrived.

"Hi Stink" Harry greeted him

"Hello master Harry" Stink bowed "Stink has bad news, one of the dragons has escaped and is coming here"

"What why?" Harry asked "which dragon?"

"Lilly sir, the green Hungarian Horntail, Stink believes that she wants master Harry present for her egg hatching"

"Why?" Ginny asked

"The dragons are very smart miss" Stink answered "they know that master is the strongest and protects the youngest one, the Lilly dragon is not feeling well. Me thinks she wants to leave her egg with master Harry"

"Alright Stink get one of those prepared notes from Sirius" Harry ordered and Stink left, Harry and Stink made these notes in case Harry ever needed to leave . "Gin, I'll go and intercept the her after I tell McGonagall, needless to say a protective dragon and her child is not what we want right here and now"

"Okay" Ginny agreed as Harry stood up "be safe" she kissed him goodbye. As he left she laughed at the fact that she didn't even question why Harry had a dragon, she was always satisfied with thinking it was just because he was Harry.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17- The end of third year

Ginny sat in the great hall with the twins Fred and George, she had explained what had happened and how Harry had told the teachers he had to go and intercept the dragon. The twins weren't even surprised anymore, they just accepted that if something weird or amazing happened, it had to involve Potter.

"You know" Fred spoke, however before another word could leave his mouth the Harry Potter walked in, looking a bit different. By different he had a baby Hungarian Horntail sat on his shoulder and a green snake wrapped around his left forearm. He walked in, pretending not to notice the stares.

"Harry my boy" George spoke

"Why is there a dragon on your shoulder?" Fred asked

"and a snake on your arm?"

"So no hello?" Harry joked "I can assume Gin told you about last night" The twins nodded "believe it or not I have quite a few magical creatures including dragons, one of the mothers had gotten sick. She had days left, so she flew over because she wanted me to look after it. When it hatched it saw me first and labelled me as its parent. He needs to spend at least two hours with me every day for the next year. I figure I can also let Hagrid look after him when I'm in lessons"

"That's nice" Ginny commented as she stroked the dragon "he loves dragons, have you named it yet?"

"Yeah" Harry nodded "I honoured my mother by naming his mother after her, so it's dads turn and I'm naming him Prongs Junior, or PJ for short"

"Prongslet and Prongs Junior" Fred snickered "what about the handsome bloke on your arm?"

"This is Emerald" Harry gestured to the snake "I brought him my first time in Diagon Alley, I brought him with me for three reasons. The first being I missed his company, the second being he can keep PJ company and third is because your little brother and his girlfriend suspect I'm a dark wizard. Hopefully the dragon and snake can convince them otherwise." The twins snickered

"You are an evil genius" George sighed

"The sooner you marry him the better " Fred nudged Ginny

"Hey" Ron walked up with Hermione "what are those?"

"I think it's a dragon and a snake" Ginny spoke sarcastically

"I know that" Ron growled "why have you got them in school?"

"I would explain but I doubt you could keep up" Harry spoke as he rubbed PJs head "long story short the dragon, who is called PJ by the way, needs to stay with me for a while. My snake, Emerald is just here to keep PJ company."

"You can't have a snake and dragon in school!" Hermione cried

"Why not? Malfoy as stupid as he is was capable of summoning a snake in his second year, but you're complaining about harmless little Emerald over here?"

Emerald hissed at the two who immediately took a step back. They then noticed more hissing, but what surprised them was the fact that it wasn't coming from the snake, it was coming from Harry. He was actually speaking to the snake, the snake suddenly relaxed and laid its head on the back of Harrys hand.

"Can I pet him?" Ginny asked, Harry hissed a bit more before the snake hissed back, Harry nodded and Ginny initiated the petting.

"Ginny!" Hermione squeaked "stop touching the snake"

"Why?" Ginny continued to do exactly what Hermione told her not to "he doesn't seem to mind and Harry asked if I could" Ron after hearing Ginny had finally regained his voice

"You…You're a…parslemouth?"

"Amongst other things" Harry smirked "I can talk to pretty much any snake, oh and I can talk to spiders"

"S…spiders?" Ron paled

"Yeah" Harry nodded "they listen to me and do what I tell them"

"You can't keep those in school" Hermione continued

"Yes I can" Harry looked on confidently "I have a note from Remus saying he gives permission and I've explained the situation to McGonagall and Dumbledore. Admittedly Dumbledore wasn't particularly happy about it but he knew he couldn't do anything, you see dragons are a protected species and removing this one from me could end up killing it. Horntails as powerful as they are need to spend more time with who they label as their 'parent' then most dragons. He labelled me as his parent, much to my amusement and your irritation.

As for the snake I've also gotten permission from Remus and informed those that need to know, besides if second years can summon snakes then they can't really complain if I bring one that I can control. Besides Hagrid is going to look after them when I'm not in lessons and needless to say he agreed"

"I can't believe this" Hermione threw her hands up in frustration "why does everything go your way?"

"Not everything" Harry replied "if it did then I'd be talking to my friends in peace without interruption. With that being said we should probably go Ginny. I need to drop my friends over at Hagrids before potions." The two stood up and did that.

In potions class Ginny and Harry worked alongside Neville, Snape was walking around and correcting the students, at least the ones he wasn't insulting. Neville had spent his first year being a bit nervous of Snape but eventually, under Harry and Ginny's insistence he started relaxing around the man. Snape would rarely insult him and Neville knew that it was just his way of talking to someone in class.

Snape was walking around the classroom, when he got to Mr Weasley and Miss Granger. He noticed on the desk next to them was Malfoy, Malfoy was the one Slytherin he just could not like at all. The boy was stupid enough despite all the warnings and evidence to agitate Potter twice. The first time he nearly got killed by Potter, the second by a Hippogriff then Potter. The boy's only good quality was coming from a rich and 'well-respected family', it was a wonder how anyone could picture this boy as Slytherin material.

Before he had seen him he thought Harry was arrogant, but he knew Malfoy was without doubt the definition of a 'talentless, arrogant show-off'. As for Weasley and Granger he wouldn't bother insulting them, he'd be here all day.

"Granger" Snape spoke and the class paid attention "your potion is…barley passable"

"What do you mean 'barley passable'?!" she demanded

"What I mean is the colour tone is off along with the smell and the thickness. Also just in case it is unclear I'm taking ten points away for your attitude. Now Weasley" Snape eyed his potion "your potion is supposed to be yellow, not black. I have no idea why I'm doing this but I'm giving you a choice, drink this potion and pray to whatever deity you worship with the hopes that they'll help you survive or settle with a fail. I should warn you that I don't care which but if you choose the first one then I'd like you to sign a form saying you don't hold me responsible"

"The second one" Ron grumbled, Harry wondered if he chose that option because he didn't want to drink the potion or because he couldn't be bothered to fill in the form.

"Shame" Snape didn't even miss a beat; he then looked at Malfoy "Mr Malfoy you were supposed to turn it clockwise not anticlockwise, you were also supposed to put in two mice brains, not one." Snape then moved onto his favourite students.

"Mr Longbottom, well done, if you still intend to seek out a career as a healer than I recommend you keep this up and if possible see if Madam Pomfrey is willing to assist you. She knows all about her potions and I can assure you she'd be a great help"

"Thank you sir" Neville blushed

"Miss Weasley, I must congratulate you, your potion is perfect. As is Mr Potters"

"Thank you sir" Ginny smiled "I was going to let you know that we had run out of red flowers but Harry insisted that adding an extra two seeds would be fine"

"Did he?" Snape raised an eyebrow "well I must say that Potter was right, you three can take ten points each and the rest of you will be writing an essay on the potion you have just made, or in some cases attempted to make and you will discuss what the usage of seeds to counteract the lack of red flowers."

Next was transfiguration, the terrible three followed in just after the terrific trio. Today's lesson was entirely theoretical; Harry and Ginny naturally were at the top with Neville and Hermione barley behind them. It was always a coin flips between Malfoy and Ronald for the worst results, today it was Malfoy as he answered nearly every question he was asked with a wrong answer. Ronald got at least two correct.

Later Hermione and Ron entered the common room their detention was over, they came in to find all of people in the common room crowded around something. They saw Ginny above all the heads, she was sat cross legged on a cushion and appeared to be floating. The twins were counting

"Thirty-five"

"Thirty-six"

"Thirty-seven"

"Thirty-eight"

"Thirty-nine"

"Forty" Hermione and Ron walked closer and through the crowd so they could see what was going on. Once they got to the middle they found that Ginny wasn't floating but she was actually being held up. Harry was doing a handstand and using his feet to hold Ginny.

"Fifty-five" The twins continued

"Fifty-six"

"Fifty-seven"

"Fifty-eight"

"Fifty-nine"

"SIXTY!" They both exclaimed and the common room began screaming and cheering before the twins grabbed Ginny and helped her get back on the floor, Harry returned to using his legs instead of his arms. He held his arms out as if to soak in the praise.

"What was that?!" Hermione screamed, the whole room went silent

"We got bored" Ginny explained "we started talking, one thing lead to another and somehow Seamus and Dean ended up betting that Harry couldn't do a handstand and hold me up at the same time. Me and the twins then betted that he could and he could do it for a minute at least. That remind me, pay up lads" Dean and Seamus grumbled before handing some money over to Ginny and the twins

"And thank you too" Ginny kissed Harry on the cheek. Before more could be said Harrys baby dragon flew down the stairs and landed on his shoulder, his snake then slithered down the stairs and climbed up him until it rested around his left arm,.

"Are you lot seriously okay with that?" Ron gestured to Harry, upon seeing the looks that the rest of the common room was giving him he continued "he's got a bloody dragon in here! It's a horntail, do you lot know how dangerous those are?!"

"We trust Harry" Neville spoke up "he said it wouldn't harm us and it hasn't, it even let a couple of us stroke him"

"Ron I'm sure Charlie told you how intelligent dragons are" Ginny sighed "PJ sees Harry as a parent and Harry rather likes the rest of the common room,, so naturally PJ likes them as well."

"PJ?" Hermione asked

"It's his name" Harry explained before chuckling at how prideful the little dragon looked "besides any damage he can do can be repaired and it's only temporary."

"It's still dangerous" Ron insisted "and what about the snake then? You're a parslemouth!"

"Emerald is venomous, I admit, but I gave him specific orders not to bite anyone. Again, no one else seems to care and yes I am a parslemouth. I first found out when I was eight and I brought him, his one of my closest friends"

"Whatever, everyone knows that only dark wizards can speak parslemouth"

"You think Harrys a dark wizard?!" Neville and everyone else looked at him as if he grew a third head "please tell me you're joking?"

"No" Ron shouted "look at all the stuff he can do"

"Maybe he's just better than you and you're jealous" Ginny interrupted

"No I'm not" Ron roared "but even you can't deny he's dangerous, we all saw him try and kill Malfoy in second year, he was about to kill him again this year and now he strolls up with a dragon and a snake. And he's always with you, if you're not there then he always tries to find you. He's obsessed, there's no way he can't be dark"

Harry looked amused, along with Ginny. They considered themselves close to dark but not dark, however they weren't going to waste brain cells explaining that to Ron. The rest of the common room looked at him with a furious look in their eyes, apart from the twins who sat back and watched the show in anticipation. Stink had actually popped in and handed the two popcorn before popping out, they looked at Harry who just gave them a knowing look.

"Are you mad?" Seamus spoke first "sure Harrys more powerful then he should be but he's not evil. As for Malfoy, everyone wants to kill Malfoy so nobody can blame him there"

"Yeah" Dean agreed "just because the bloke can talk to snakes and prefers to spend time with his girlfriend doesn't mean he's evil. Unless Ginny complains I don't see what the problem is"

"Yeah" Neville chimed in "so what if he has a few dangerous animals? Doesn't make him no different than Hagrid. Well apart from the height, the power difference and the fact that Hagrids facial hair is far better than anything Harry could ever hope to achieve"

"Thanks mate" Harry chuckled, Neville rarely joked but Harry had to admit he liked it when he did.

"You have no idea how nice Harry is" Katie interrupted "he literally gave me five thousand galleons with no strings attached just so my family could stay out of debt and not sell my house"

"Five…thousand?" Ron quickly got over his surprised and reverted back to his accusing stare "He probably just did that so you'd be in his debt"

"No!" Katie replied, furious at the very thought of Harry doing something like that

"It's true" Angelina cut in "me and Alicia were there when it happened, Katie isn't indebted to him because he said it was a thank you for being nice to him and that she didn't have to pay him back. And you know that in the wizarding world as soon as he said that she was not in his debt."

"Well just because he throws his money about doesn't make him not dark" Ron argued

"You're right" Alicia agreed with Ron, he lit up until she continued "the fact that he's such a nice guy does. He's so nice that even Filch and Snape like him"

"Don't you think you're all exaggerating a bit?" Hermione asked

"We're understating it if anything" Ginny spoke "last week Harry found a first year muggle born Hufflepuff with a broken ankle, he healed his leg and took him to Madam Pomfrey before telling Snape about how the Slytherin's beat him up. Besides he bonded with a Phoenix, those are pure light creatures, you think they just bond to anyone?" Ron tried to find a flaw in her logic, Ginny decided to stop it before he burst a brain cell

"No Ron" She spoke "they don't, the only dark magic that can harm a Phoenix are physical attacks, you can't force them to bond with someone. That's why there are so few, not many can bond with one. If that's not good enough for you then I'm sure the others will have something to say."

"I don't think that I'd be anywhere near as good as I am without Harry and Ginny's help" Neville admitted "I don't see how a dark wizard would waste his time stopping me from ruining an anti-boil cure or learning how to transform needles"

"And there was that time he helped those first years that you made cry" Katie added, Hermione blushed in embarrassment along with Harry, but both for different reasons.

"Guy's stop" Harry smiled "if I hear one more compliment I'll be blushing"

"No Harry" Ginny insisted "everything we're saying is true, besides after what's happened to you growing up no one can blame you if you did go dark. Not that I'd let that happen of course"

"How do you even know that's true?!" Ron asked, he continued oblivious to the stares he was getting "he probably faked those memories"

"Little brother" Percy chimed in for the first time "you can't give fake memories in court, all the memories are checked to make sure they're real and unfortunately for you the muggles had the exact same memories." Ginny felt a bit of pride in Percy for standing up to Harry, she knows he was never a bad guy, a bit annoying but not bad. He just respected authority, and that was mum and Dumbledore. Maybe he'd grow out of it when he got older, but overtime he did come to respect Harry.

"It'd be in your best interest to drop this matter" Percy continued "Harry had broken no rules and mother has already warned you about harassing him. I doubt you'd like to experience what would happen Professor McGonagall sent a letter to her or if Harry had to physically stop you again" Ron grumbled before walking up to his room, the common room cheered. Some for his departure and others for Percy, who had been looking quite pleased by the cheers.

"Nice one Percy" Harry thanked the now blushing man

"No problem Harry, now if you'll excuse me I have to go and meet my girlfriend" Percy turned and walked out of the common room. Not noticing that Fred and George had gotten up and followed him.

"Aren't you going to go up and comfort your boyfriend?" Ginny asked Hermione

"He's not my boyfriend" Hermione spoke with a hint of disgust in her voice

"Sorry" Harry apologised, even though it was clear he didn't mean it "we just figured you were seeing as how you two always hang around each other and the fact that you're just the right sort of people for each other"

"What does that mean?!"

"Well Ron is the type of person who needs to be told what to do" Ginny explained "that's probably why mum likes him so much"

"And past experience tells me you're the sort who likes to tell others what to do" Harry added "you do tend to mother everyone and tell them what to do even when they don't want you to do so" A murmur of agreement came from the common room "to be fair now that I think about it you have a lot in common with Ron's mum"

"Are you going to let him insult your mum?!" Hermione turned to Ginny

"He didn't" Ginny shrugged "that's actually a fairly accurate description of my mum and most, if not all, of my family would agree. Except mum of course"

"Why do two have to be so mean?!" Hermione screamed "is it because I'm not pretty or is it just because I'm muggle-born?"

"Are you kidding me?" Neville shouted "Harry don't care about looks"

"Yeah" Katie agreed "as much as we hate to admit it he's only interested in Ginny so frankly it don't matter if you were ugly or a French supermodel"

"Also I'm muggle born" Dean interrupted "Harrys never had a problem with me, or any of the others"

"My problem has always been with your behaviour" Harry grabbed Ginny's hand "if you can't work it out then you're dumber than I thought, excuse me but me and Ginny have to go now. PJ needs air, so do we, right Gin?"

"Right Harry" Ginny agreed as the two walked out. The two walked out and walked over to Hagrids; they stopped for a bit and talked with the big, friendly half-giant. He invited them in for tea, fang jumped up and licked Harry who wiped it off whilst Ginny giggled. The three sat and talked for a while.

"Oh yeah Hagrid, can emerald and PJ stay with you at night?" Harry asked

"Emerald and PJ?" Hagrids voice and face made it fairly obvious that he was confused.

"Emerald is this lovely snake whilst PJ is the handsome Horntail sitting on my shoulder" Harry explained, Ginny noticed both dragon and snake raise their heads.

"Sure" Hagrid exclaimed, before quieting down so as not to scare the reptiles "but I thought that they needed to stay with ya?"

"At least two hours a day" Harry nodded "PJ still sees me as his parent, so he'll need to stay with me until the end of the year. I thought it'd be longer but apparently being around all the people here has made him grow up a bit. Dragons are quite smart you know, from what I understand he sees me and Ginny as his father and honorary mother" Ginny smiled and stroked PJ as his puffed his chest and looked up in pride, he rather reminded her of Percy a little. 'Percy Junior' she thought.

"Dragons are misunderstood creatures" Hagrid smiled "everyone else just thinks they're dangerous creatures, I'll admit dangerous but like you said they're quite intelligent. Hey…uh Harry, how do ya think he sees me?"

"Hmm" Harry thought about it "well with the other people in the common room he's gotten used to them and I believe he sees them as friends or at the very least non-threats. But with you I imagine he probably sees you as an uncle or something like that" The half giant blushed. PJ, as if to prove Harry right, jumped off of his shoulders and onto the table where he began rubbing his head against Hagrids arm.

"Isn't he adorable?" Hagrid exclaimed proudly, which resulted in more rubbing "look at you, you like to stay with uncle Hagrid don't you? What about the snake? Uh sorry, Emerald"

"I brought him with me to keep PJ company as I couldn't bring another dragon, I figured it'd be nice to have another reptile with him. But if it's okay with you I'd like to keep him here, ninety-nine per cent of the common room is okay with the two but I don't want those who aren't to do anything that could harm them. They seem to think that because I'm a parsle mouth that I'm probably evil"

" _Do not worry massster_ " Emerald hissed " _you're true freindsss will not abandon you_ "

" _Thank you Emerald, I'm lucky to have you_ " Harry hissed back. Before noticing that Hagrid was looking at him "sorry but it proves my point"

"Don't prove nothing" Hagrid waved his giant hand "I mean it sounds a bit weird but other than that I don't see the harm. Actually quite jealous, truth be told, it sounds like a nice thing to have. Being able to talk to snakes, besides I don't think you're bad. You might be stronger than life and pretty angry but I'm pretty positive you'll turn out alright."

"Thanks Hagrid, that means a lot."

"It's alright, I promise you your parents will be proud of you. I mean even old Snape likes you, Buckbeak loves it when you visit, animals have a good sense on people. I reckon that if both people and animals say you're alright, you shouldn't worry about the odd ones who don't. As long as your heart tells you you're right, then that's all that matters." Hagrid sighed, he looked as if he wanted to say something.

"I've got to be honest and I don't want you to tell anyone this, I'm smarter than I look, not really that smart but I am smarter than people think I am. I heard what happened in court, I know you wouldn't lie about something like that and I know all about Dumbledore's reading minds." The two looked at him in shock

"My dad was good at occlumency, and as you probably guessed me ma was a giant. They have a natural immunity to mind reading, Dumbledore tried it on me once but he thought I didn't know. Now I'll be the first to admit that I'm not really that smart but when Dumbledore gave me a job after that chamber incident, I was so thankful and I saw the man as the nicest person ever.

But then on the night your passed he had you put with the Dursley's, I remember your mum saying how bad they were and old McGonagall saying not to put ya there. I asked a couple of times if I could visit but he wouldn't let me. The court thing just made me realise, Dumbledore was a great man. Was a great man but stealing from dead people and forcing you to stay there has rather changed my mind on him. What I'm saying is, if you need something then just ask" The two thought for a while, they looked at each other and it looked to Hagrid like they shared a telepathic conversation.

"I feel like we can trust him Gin" Harry broke the silence, Ginny thought about it, she knew that Harry knew who to trust. But there's nothing wrong with verifying, Harry seemed to have picked up on her train of thought and nodded

"Hagrid" Ginny spoke eventually "if you had to choose between helping Dumbledore or helping Harry then which would you choose?"

"Both if I could" Hagrid answered honestly "habitually I want to say Dumbledore, I've trusted the man for as long as I remember. But I would choose Harry"

"Hagrid" Harry spoke carefully "me and Ginny will never join the dark side but we're not planning to join the light side either. Sooner or later I'm going to end up fighting 'him' again, Dumbledore even thinks so. But I want to do things my way, that means using spells that could be considered dark"

"Not the unforgivables though" Ginny added

"Not the unforgivables though" Harry repeated "and I'm going to deal with people in a way they deserve, I promise I won't ever intentionally hurt or kill an innocent person but the death eaters are another story. If I see the man who killed my parents one more time then I won't hesitate in chopping his head off. Are you still in?"

"That's a lot to take in" Hagrid admitted, he stopped for a while and became deep in thought "but I think you're doing the right thing"

"Thanks Hagrid" Harry felt a wave of relief fall over him "if you're in then you've got to do an unbreakable vow not to reveal my secrets, it's nothing personal but I've had every person I trust do the same." Hagrid agreed and they did the vow

"Alright Hagrid, pretend everything's normal for now but later I'll have someone come down and talk to you, probably McGonagall."

"Harry" Ginny spoke softly "we have to go now if we want to make curfew"

"Right" Harry nodded "bye guys" The two left with Hagrid waving goodbye

"Those two are summat else" Hagrid sighed

The rest of the school year went by in a breeze, Harry and Ginny excelled in all lessons. Except for Defence class which had been cancelled for the year as Dumbledore couldn't find a replacement and refused to let Snape teach it. Harry and Ginny used the free period to help those who asked for help in defence, Ron and Malfoy along with his friends in Slytherin refused to take part and Hermione didn't want to either. But she was lured into learning something knew.

Harry had taken everyone to a free classroom and taught them basic spells like Stupefy or Expelliarmus, he also taught them everything needed to pass their end of year exams. Needless to say that all those Harry helped had passed their exams whilst Harry and Ginny got the highest marks, much to the annoyance of Hermione.

At the end of the year the two found themselves in an empty compartment, after some talking the two began in what they felt like was some well-earned snogging. The elves took PJ and Emerald back to Potter Manor, Harry would have gone with them if it wasn't for the fact that the he wanted to spend time with Ginny. Eventually they returned to talking when the door slid open. Percy stood their looking quite pleased with himself.

"Hello" He spoke happily "I've got good news, I may have just got a job at the ministry"

"Cool" Ginny smiled "are you going to be working with dad or something like that?"

"No actually" Percy replied "I got a letter that explained everything. I'm basically an assistant as of the moment, I'll be doing whatever Mr Barty Crouch tells me to do. Apparently I'm the youngest person ever to get this job. That's if I did sufficiently in the exams and actually get the job"

"Congratulations" Harry spoke sincerely "well if anyone deserves it it's you with all the work you put in at school, when do you start?"

"Thank you" Percy blushed a little "about two weeks from now if, they've even given me my own flat, I can't believe that they're actually giving me this job"

"I can" Harry replied "I'm the one who helped you get it"

"You what?!" Percy lit up with surprise, as did Ginny

"Believe it or not I have great sway within the ministry, me and my godfather went there one weekend, it was when Pettigrew was a revealed and things were a bit tiring so that's probably why I forgot to tell you Ginny. Anyway we were talking with Barty Crouch, something about wanting to make up for his years of imprisonment. Personally I think he wanted to improve his own image but that's beside the point, after Sirius was given financial compensation Crouch mentioned something about wanting a new assistant and I recommended he take you once you finished your education"

"Harry" Percy was flabbergasted "I…I don't know what to say. T…Thank you"

"Just do me one favour Percy"

"Anything!" Percy replied

"Be honest and be hard working and do what you think is right, be the type of person that Britain would be proud to let work in the ministry. Oh and don't tell your mum what I did, that could bring too much attention on me."

"Harry" Percy looked like he was about to cry "thank you, this means a lot to me, it's always been my dream to work at the ministry. Thank you and I promise I won't let you down, and don't worry I won't tell mother." Percy soon left, leaving the adorable couple alone.

"Sorry by the way" Harry spoke to Ginny "I really did forget to tell you with all the Pettigrew and the serious Sirius stuff"

"It's okay" Ginny licked her lips "you can make it up to me" She wrapped her hands around his neck and the back of his head, she pulled him down"

"Ahem" A familiar voice stopped them from continuing, they looked to find Hermione and Ron standing in the doorway

"I've seriously got to remember to lock that" Harry growled

"Can we help you two?" Ginny was not much happier

"You can start by not snogging my sister" Ron spoke first

"She's the one who snogs me" Harry corrected "I just enjoy it too much to tell her to stop"

"Prat" Ginny playfully slapped him on the arm before turning to the other two "now as you two can tell we'd like some time alone thank you very much, I'd like to give my boyfriend something to remember me by"

"NO!" Ron shouted

"RON!" Ginny shouted even louder "WHAT I DO WITH HARRY IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN'T GET SOMEONE TO SNOG WITH YOU OR BECAUSE YOU CAN'T GET OVER THE FACT THAT I'M NOT SIX ANYMORE DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO! NOW YOU'RE GOING TO LET ME SPEND TIME WITH MY BOYFRIEND OR I'M GOING TO HEX YOU THEN TELL THE TWINS YOU'RE FAIR GAME THIS SUMMER!" Ron's mouth had suddenly become incapable of making noise.

"That's my girl" Harry kissed her on the cheek

"Ginny" Hermione spoke "your brother means well. But we came to talk to you because we wanted to know why you don't like us?" Ron nudged her "Fine I wanted to know why you don't like me, I'm sure if you gave me a chance then you, me and Harry could become good friends"

"You want to know why I don't like you?" Harry snorted before standing up "I'll send you a list of reasons, fair warning that at the top will be interrupting my snogging time. Now until the next school year I bid you two goodbye, but before we part I'd like to leave you with the following words. 'The Chudley Cannons suck'" Before Ron could register what Harry just said he closed the door and used his wand to put a locking charm on the door before making the glass window indestructible and closing the blinds.

"Alohamora" They heard Hermione say, but when the door didn't open she tried again "Alohamora" and again "Alohamora!" and again "ALOHAMORA!" She screamed "AH! Why isn't this working?! Harry James Potter you open this door right now!" Harry placed a silencing charm on and returned to Ginny who was stifling her laughter

"Give me a sec" She raised a hand as Harry got closer "let me finish laughing, then we'll snog"

"Fair enough" Harry nodded

An hour of laughing and snogging later, the train arrived at the station. They along with the twins found themselves met with Molly Weasley as soon as they got out, Ron was too busy talking with Hermione and her parents to notice. Her parents disapproving looks at Ronald were noticed by everyone, except Ronald and Hermione but that was only because he was thick and she wasn't paying attention as she was looking at Harry and the other Weasleys.

"Harry" Mrs Weasley spoke in a nice voice but Harry could detect the emotions she had hidden, he had to guess that she was still upset over him taking Dumbledore to court

"Hello Mrs Weasley" Harry returned the fake niceness, although his was more convincing "if you don't mind me asking, where is Mr Weasley?"

"His working at the moment dear" She answered

"Okay" Harry replied before kissing Ginny on the cheek "well, I got to go now, so see ya Ginny." He then turned to the twins and shook their hands "Gred and Feorge, stay in trouble"

"Oh we will young master" Fred smiled

"Pranksters honour" George added

"Harry" Mrs Weasley interjected "where are you going exactly?"

"Home" Was Harrys simple reply "well I'm planning to make a few stops before I get there but that is where I'm intending to go"

"Harry" She spoke softly "you know I worry about you, staying in a house all by yourself, I understand that's how you like it but you shouldn't be alone"

"I'm not alone" Harry smiled "but maybe I should just stay with Remus or Sirius for the summer, I'll think about it on my way there" He wasn't going to, he had already told Remus that the guardianship was only a legal formality he needed help with and he would visit from time to time and see him and Sirius.

"Now that's good Harry" She replied "but I was thinking that maybe you could tell me where your house is and I could pop in every now and then and make sure everything is safe and sound. That way you can stay at home and still be supervised and I could help you with your cleaning and cooking"

"I'm sorry Mrs Weasley" Harry wasn't really sorry but sometimes he had to lie "but I can't let you come to my house"

"Why not?!" She demanded "I've let you come to my house, don't you trust me?!"

"Of course I do" Harry lied again, sometimes they can be quite tiring "but I'm not letting anyone come to my house, I haven't even let Ginny come yet and I trust her more than anyone"

"But why?!" She all but shouted

"It's just a security thing, I'm serious about security and a bit paranoid. I also like having my own place where nobody can bother me, it makes me feel safe. Plus no offence Mrs Weasley but if you know then I have to assume that Ron would eventually know and that boy can't keep a secret to save his life. Just the other day he blurted out something about you using magic to make your food better" Then again, sometimes lies can be entertaining

"He what?!" she shouted, Ginny and the twins through sheer will managed to keep a straight face, they always thought it was nice how Harry took time to entertain them.

"Yeah" Harry nodded "don't shoot the messenger, I'm just repeating his words, he told me he'd choose the Hogwarts food over yours any day, personally I think you're just as good but he says otherwise. Goodness gracious is that the time, I have to go, goodbye Mrs Weasley. See you guys"

"Bye Harry" The three Weasleys smiled and waved as the raven haired boy left leaving a very seething Molly Weasley and watched in glee and anticipation as one Ronald Weasley walked over from an awkward encounter with Hermione's parents. No sooner than he reached the group his mother had grabbed him by the ear and lead him away, screaming and shouting.

Harry stopped by to see Sirius and Remus, he told them all about his year after the trial and as usual they ended up nearly laughing to death, he also told them about what happened at the train station and that nearly finished them off.

They talked and ate for a bit before Harry had to leave, as a parting gift he gave Remus a year's supply of Wolfsbane potion as a thank you for his help. Remus had to hold back the tears as he grabbed Harry and pulled him into the tightest hug he'd ever experienced. Harry wondered if he was that happy or if his inner wolf was a bit pissed off. Harry eventually returned home, he greeted everyone, elf and animal alike before retiring to his bed.

"Hey guys" Harry whispered, talking to his parents before sleeping as that was now tradition on his night back from Hogwarts "life is never simple is it? Good news, me and Ginny are getting along well. Same with the twins and Neville, Hagrids joined me and the prats are still being prats. I don't know what's going to happen at my next year at school, maybe vampires or another attack from old voldy-shorts.

Either way I don't plan on seeing you two in person for a while yet, unless you can come back from the dead, in which case hurry it up yeah. I'm going to give Dumbledore until the end of fifth year to do something productive. I know it's a long time away but I should be sufficiently trained by then and would have probably have more time to have fun before things get serious.

And dad, no Sirius/serious jokes please. If he doesn't then me and Ginny are going to soul bond and I'll do it myself, fair warning I probably won't make it quick. I like to think I'm allowed a little fun when I'm avenging my parents, Dumbledore and Voldermort are going to regret three things. The day I was born, the day I survived and the day I fight back.

Ginny says 'hi' by the way. Now before I go sleep I want to say Padfoot and Mooney are doing as good as can be, and if I have my way then by the time they join you they'll be a Mrs Mooney as well. The guy seriously needs somebody, unless there's more going on with him and Padfoot than just being honorary brothers. Somehow I doubt it, Padfoots not his type, besides I think that fact that Padfoot flirts with nearly every woman he sees whilst Mooney tries not to look is an indicator that it's not true. I wouldn't judge them if it was though, but it's not so I'll eventually need to get Mooney someone. Not going to bother with Padfoot, he's destined to be single and partying until he's older than Dumbledore. However if he does find someone then I'll steer him right, lord knows he'd need me.

Alright, well until next time I miss you two, dad don't annoy mum and mum just put up with him until I come there and take him off your hands. Good night"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – Winky and Nonie

"What does he mean by 'more than honorary brothers'?!" Padfoot asked

"I think it's pretty obvious what he means" Lilly snickered

"Fortunately he's right when he says it's not true" Remus interjected "plus Padfoot really isn't my type"

"I agree it's not true" Sirius replied "but come on, I'm everybody's type."

"Don't worry you two" Lilly smiled "my son is going to steer you two right and finally get you two to settle down."

"Bet you ten sickles he doesn't" Sirius replied

"You're on" Lilly agreed

"Hold on a sec" James interrupted "what the hell does he mean by 'put up with him'?"

"Good Merlin I love that boy" Lilly sighed "I hope he never changes"

"Lilly" Remus spoke softly "I haven't asked yet but what's your opinion on how he plans to deal with Voldermort and his death eaters"

"Honestly?" she replied "I wish he wasn't the one who had to do it, I'm not a fan of killing but he does make a good point. Dumbledore is clearly ineffective with how he goes about things and the only people he plans to hurt deserve it. Plus I'm not worried about him going dark, that's what my future daughter-in-law is for. Besides I don't think an evil person would be willing to get Remus a year's supply of Wolfsbane."

"True" James nodded "as long as it's just people who deserve it then I don't see the problem, I just find it a bit sad, at his age he's supposed to be worrying about nothing but having fun"

"And studying" Lilly interrupted

"And studying" James agreed "but instead he's worrying about just being able to stay home and whether or not he's going to have to deal with voldy shorts."

"I know" Lilly growled "I just hope he succeeds". The four continued watching as the screen began playing again.

Harry had just flame travelled to the edge of the burrow, he slowly walks closer when he notices a particularly pretty red head leaning against a tree. He silently walked over, no sooner than he reached the tree the red head jumped to a standing position and aimed her wand at him.

"Impressive" Harry commented "you're improving"

"Harry!" She exclaimed pocketing her wand back in her holster before she ran up and hugged the life out of him

"Hi Ginny" Harry hugged her back "you missed me I take it?"

"Prat" She playfully slapped him "I thought I wasn't going to see you for a while, you just got home yesterday."

"I did, but I quickly said hello and checked everything. I rested for the night and I did my morning workout"

"I can tell" Ginny slid an arm down his chest

"Thank you" Harry replied "now what are you doing out here?"

"Oh well Ron's being a prat" She explained "you're little 'story' yesterday got him into a fair bit of trouble, he said that if he sees you again he'd 'knock your teeth in', with that being said you are coming with me to the burrow right now." She grabbed his hand and lead him to the burrow

"Oh yeah" Ginny spoke "our letters are coming today"

"Mine as well" Harry added "I told McGonagall to send mine to you"

"Really?"

"Yeah I can just flame straight over and it's one less attempt for them to find my house"

"True, Percy told me that if he gets good enough grades then today he'd tell the family about the job"

"Good for him" Harry smiled "I don't want to miss your mum's reaction to that"

The twins and Percy immediately greeted Harry, Ron looked like he wanted to say something but under Ginny's gaze he wisely kept shut.

"Hello Harry" Mrs Weasley entered "how are you dear?"

"Fine, I just wanted to come and say hello. I told the school to send my letter here, I figured I could get my letter than me and Ginny can see what the twins and Percy got for their results."

"That's nice dear" Before she could say anymore an owl flew in with a pile of letters and everyone took their own.

"Hey Gin, it looks like we're going to Hogwarts for another year" Harry joked

"Three owls?!" Molly screamed after she saw the twins results "you both have three owls each?!"

"Come on mum" Ginny spoke "it could be worse"

"Yeah" George agreed "we have three owls each"

"And seeing as we're one person in two bodies that means we have a combined six owls" Fred added

"Although that's still less than Percy"

"But it puts us on Par with Charlie"

"You two should have tried harder!" Molly yelled

"I don't believe it" Percy whispered

"What is it Percy?" Harry asked

"I passed my N.E.W.T.s" He exclaimed suddenly "I've got the job"

"Congratulations Percy" Molly exclaimed "wait a moment, what job?"

"I had an offer from the ministry" Percy explained "if I passed my exams then I would get a job as Mr Barty Crouch's personal assistance" No sooner than he had finished talking another owl flew in, with a letter for Percy. It handed him the letter and he took it, to say he was happy would be an understatement.

"It's from the ministry" He explained "they said that my flat could be ready by tomorrow"

"You're flat?!" Molly asked "you mean you're moving out?!"

"Yes!" Percy answered, oblivious to his mother's discomfort

"But Percy, you don't want to move out!"

"Yes I do" Percy replied "I love our home mother but it'd be nice to have my own place"

"But Percy! You can't leave, the rest of us would miss you!"

"We wouldn't" The twins spoke

"One less mouth to feed" Ron pointed out

"Boys!" Molly shrieked

"I'm really proud of you" Ginny hugged her brother "you're now a big shot ministry worker, in a year I expect to see you promoted with a wife"

"Yeah, well done Percy" Harry added

"Thank you sister" Percy hugged her back "and thanks Harry, that means a lot"

"Well you deserve it" She smiled "and don't let anyone tell you otherwise, if they do then me and Harry will straighten them up on your behalf"

"Thank you, the both of you, now I'm going to go and get my stuff ready." Percy ran upstairs with a frantic Molly following after him.

"Well" Harry spoke "there are worst ways to start the day"

"Speaking off" Ginny nodded towards the door, just as Hermione came in.

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed

"Little excited to see the girlfriend aren't we?" Fred asked

"Shut up" Ron demanded

"Don't be rude Ronald" Hermione scolded "hello everyone, hi Harry" Ron glared at him whilst everyone else either raised an eyebrow or rolled their eyes

"Come on Gin" Harry grabbed her hand "why don't we go for a walk outside?"

"Excellent idea"

She led him away, the two walked around the burrow for a bit, laughing and talking. Until dinner time, when they went inside. Everyone sat at the table, Ron and Hermione sat opposite to Harry and Ginny, the two held hands under the table while they ate. A fact that was not missed by everyone else, Mrs Weasley was too busy looking back and forth between the food she was cooking/serving and Percy to notice. Percy didn't say anything as he approved of their relationship, even before he helped get him a job.

The twins knew better to get involved, if Harry didn't do something then Ginny would. Arthur looked quite happy for his daughter, he knew the twins would do many things but never say something about someone if they didn't deserve it and those two held Harry in the highest opinion possible. Hermione looked rather resigned and jealous. Another thing everyone noticed, even Ron, which was probably why he was glaring at Harry.

"So Percy" Arthur spoke first "the twins have filled me in on this new job of yours? Excited?"

"Oh very" Percy smiled "I mean it's a lot of responsibility and work but I'm confident I can do it, the pay is good and I can't wait to see my new flat"

"Percy" Harry spoke up "if you don't mind me asking, does the ministry pay for your flat?"

"Yes they do Harry, why do you ask?"

"Well it's just I'd recommend saving up some money, just in case you know. Maybe if you're flat gets damaged or if something else happens. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying I'd think you'd lose your job or anything like that but I do think it would be prepared. I mean I've heard stories of wizards and muggles who don't take proper precautions and can end up in debt or homeless"

"He's right Percy" Arthur agreed "in the ministry a single action can break or make a career, I think it'd be best if you had a backup plan just in case."

"I do agree with the both of you" Percy sighed "don't worry Harry I know what you meant and I think you're right, I should save some money just in case I need it"

"Nonsense" Molly piped in "if anything happens then you can just come back here"

"Mother I am a grown man" Percy pointed out "I can't depend on you for everything, I mean look at Harry. The boy is a few years away from my age, he doesn't need the money but he has managed to make a home for himself"

"Yes dear but Harry is…"

"And Bill and Charlie, those two were so dedicated to their careers that they went abroad to pursue them, I'm just moving to London. I love you mother but you need to stop babying me, I'll visit you and even send money if I need to but I need you to let me do this. I cannot run back here every time something goes wrong" Molly, not knowing what to do, huffed and went back to cooking

"That's alright son" Arthur replied "we appreciate the offer but you should spend that money on yourself, or whoever my future daughter–in-law is"

"Thank you father" Percy smiled

"Oh yeah Ginny" Harry spoke "tomorrow, you and me are going to have a nice day to ourselves"

"What do you mean?" Ginny raised an eyebrow

"Well Gin, I remembered you telling me about not having much experience with muggles, so I brought us two tickets to a muggle theme park"

"Really?!" Ginny screamed before scattering kisses all over Harrys face "thank you, thank you"

"That's enough" Ron interrupted the moment, Ginny glared at him before sitting down

"So" She said "what are we going to do at this park?"

"A lot of things" Harry answered "we can walk, look around, try the food there, buy some stuff and go on all the rides"

"I've heard of those muggle rides" Molly interjected before Arthur could start talking about how much he loved muggles "I don't think you two should go, it doesn't sound very safe"

"Safer than quidditch" Harry replied "more dangerous accidents happen in a simple single quidditch match than a theme park will have in ten years, the rides are constantly maintained and checked for safety. That's why it's so rare that anything happens at all"

"What about us?" Ron asked

"What about you?"

"Where's our tickets?" Ron explained

"I agree Harry you should invite us two, it could be a fun day out for all of us" Hermione replied

"Sorry but this is my day out with my boyfriend" Ginny interrupted "if you lot want tickets then you should by your own"

"Fine then" Hermione huffed "I'll call mum up and have her buy tickets so I can join you"

"Good luck with that" Harry smiled "this is a magical house so a phone won't work here and yes Mr Weasley I'll talk to you about phones and theme park rides later" Arthur nodded his head in appreciation as Harry continued "you could send an owl if not for the fact that you don't own one and Percy's has been sent out whilst I left Hedwig at my godfathers. Besides we're leaving tomorrow morning and I know that an owl can't reach your parents in time.

Even if you do it's a big theme park so don't think you can follow us. By the way Ginny, wake up early and I'll come and pick you up at about ten"

"Thank you sweetie" She kissed him on the cheek

"Now" Harry stood up "I have to go, thanks for the dinner Mrs Weasley"

"I'll escort you outside" Ginny insisted. The two walked out, ignoring the cat calls from the twins. As soon as they were a good enough distance from the house they were stopped by a rather irritating red head who had chosen to follow them

"Oi Potter" Ron shouted as the two stopped and looked at him "why did you have to lie to my mum again?! I get off the train and the first thing she does is go on about how I hate her cooking? You're going to make it up to me"

"Am I?" Harry raised an eyebrow

"Yeah" Ron nodded "you're going to invite me and Hermione to that muggle place tomorrow"

"Like you'd want to go Ron" Ginny responded "you know how fast and high some of those rides are?"

"What does it matter?"

"Ron when you play quidditch you're always keeper, as a keeper you generally stay in one spot and just move the bare minimum. I remember you telling Charlie how you didn't like going too fast and doing fancy tricks, well that's what the rides are like. There are loops and other types of things that a seeker might do, even the wronski feint. And they're really fast

"Yeah" Harry agreed "the kiddie rides are fine but some of the slower rides go at a speed of about 30 to 50 miles per hour and some even faster. The ride with the record for most loops has 14 loops and the world's fastest ride can go to 149.1miles per hour"

"You're lying" Ron shouted in disbelief

"Nope, I researched it when I was deciding what to do. Besides it's not like Hermione hasn't been to one before, this is my and Ginny's first time going to one and I'm not having it ruined by a girl who can't get over her obsession"

"What obsession?!"

"Ron" Ginny spoke softly "I know you're not the most observant person but even you noticed how she was looking at Harry and me at dinner, I don't expect you to listen to me or even believe me but trust me when I say that isn't the girl for you."

"I don't even like her like that" Ron replied

"it's pretty obvious Harry is the only reason she came here" Ginny responded "if you don't want to think we're telling the truth then don't but just don't blame us when it goes tits up"

"Alright I'm going to go now before he starts screaming" Harry kissed Ginny "see you tomorrow at ten" With that Harry flamed away, Ginny quickly rushed back Ron and went back to the house before he could say anything.

"Ginny dear" Mrs Weasley spoke "Hermione we'll be sleeping in your room"

"No she won't" Ginny refused

"Don't you take that tone with me!" Molly roared

"Mum!" Ginny looked at her mum defiantly "Hermione is not staying in my room because she can stay in Bill or Charlie's room and besides if she does than either she'd do something horrible to me or I'd do something to her"

"I would never" Hermione shouted "I would never behave inappropriately"

"Just like how you never tried to steal my boyfriend?" Ginny shot back "Or how you never constantly bothered the two of us or got detention every second week? Besides mum, I don't think Harry would feel very happy knowing I had to share a room with her"

Harry had told her to use his name if she was ever in an argument with her mother, she knew why, her mum had to keep him happy and want him to like the family. She also feared what would happen if Harry did something drastic and she knew he could be very dangerous if he did, she had heard the rumours about him at school and she knew all about him taking Dumbledore to court.

"Very well" She reluctantly agreed "Hermione can stay in Charlie's room for tonight and you can sleep in your own"

"Thank you mother" Ginny spoke sweetly

"Well played" The twins whispered as she walked up to her room.

The next day Harry arrived and the two whisked off to a theme park, where they spent the remainder of the day. Ginny enjoyed the rides, sadly for Harry they didn't seem that impressive thanks to the dives and loops he'd do daily when practising for quidditch. They returned later in the evening at the burrow with a pile of sweets and candies which they shared with everyone. Molly insisted they should be checked, Percy tried one and thought it wasn't that bad, the twins tried a few and agreed. Ron tried at least one of everything and would probably have finished them all if his mother hadn't fussed and his father didn't start examining them.

Harry and Ginny told them all about their day. They told them how they went on rides, won a few prizes in the games, went on more rides and ate pizza before returning. Just after Arthur had finished questioning them on pizza Harry had started handing out gifts. He got Mrs Weasley some theme park themed cutlery, he brought the twins some bubble blowers and he even got Ron a pile of sweets.

Ron obviously wanted them but he refused, Harry didn't care much so he just let Ginny have them. He then gave Arthur a toy helicopter, to say Arthur was beaming with joy would be an understatement. Soon Percy left the house, everyone said their goodbyes and Mrs Weasley constantly failed at not crying and being happy for him. A little while later Harry returned home, his time had been divided between training, visiting the remaining marauders and visiting Ginny.

Eventually came time for the world cup, Harry and Sirius brought tickets for it, Remus declined and Harry didn't need to buy tickets for the Ginny as her dad had won them somehow. Soon they all found themselves in the ministers personal booth and watching the world cup. Then the Malfoys came in, all three of them, Harry didn't like the way they were looking at them so decided he'd go and make an impression. He walked over to them just as they entered.

"Hello Draco" He spoke playfully "how are you and Crabbe doing?" Draco sank behind his parents who were wondering what was going , Harry turned to the woman who he knew was Draco's mother "Hello" He spoke in a low but polite voice as he bowed slightly "I assume you're Mrs Malfoy?"

"It's nice to meet you" She extended her hand, Harry gently took it.

"The pleasure is all mine" He placed a small kiss in the back of her hand and looked directly at her as he did before slowly releasing it and turning to Mr Malfoy, who was too busy looking at him to notice the look of approval he was getting from Mrs Malfoy. Draco did notice but he wasn't really sure what he was seeing, his mother never looked like she approved of anything, in fact she always looked at him with disgust.

"Mr Potter" Lucius spoke

"Mr Malfoy" Harry greeted him with a smile "I trust you're well"

"I have a few problems, nothing that can't be fixed however" He sneered

"Good" Harry replied "I find it often helps if you talk to someone about your problems, if not your wife then may I suggest writing in a journal, although you strike me more as the sort of person who would have a diary" Malfoy paled at the reference Harry was making

"Then again" Harry took a glance at the minister "I'm sure you can solve your problems with the ministers assistance and your own financial power, if you'll excuse me I'll return to my seat now" Malfoy paled again as Harry walked away and sat down.

Harry found the elf next to him intriguing, he felt sorry for it after learning it had to stay despite being afraid of heights, he felt even more sorry after Hermione started ranting about elves. Right after he had convinced the twins not to bet with Bagman Harry noticed that in the empty seat was a person, he could feel the dark magic coming from him, Harry looked into his mind and saw how he simply wanted to return to his master. Harry considered if he should do anything.

It would be suspicious if he were to reveal he knew, but perhaps this could be an opportunity. A simple tracking charm and he'd be able to find voldermort. So that's what he did, he placed the charm and watched the game. His 'ill-intent' spell would let him know if he tried anything.

Soon they found themselves back in the tents when death eaters began attacking, in the panic and chaos Harry and Ginny got separated from the rest. Both remained in a defensive state of mind as they slowly looked for the others, that was when they noticed the dark mark in the sky, soon Harrys 'danger sense' began tingling and he pulled Ginny to the ground just as a barrage of spells came towards them.

"Stop!" A familiar voice yelled "that's my daughter" Arthur walked out of the bushed followed by twenty other people

"Which one of you cast the dark mark?" Ludo Bagman asked

"Wasn't us" Harry explained "I'm Harry Potter, we got lost and stumbled here when we saw the mark in the sky then you lot attacked us."

"Hey that's my wand!" Ron exclaimed when he saw Winky in the bushes holding a wand, Barty Crouch entered the fray, Winky was blamed and freed. Once the adults had left Hermione, despite Winky's sadness seemed rather pleased that the poor elf was free. Harry however wasn't.

"Winky is it?" Harry knelt down "I'm sorry about everything that's happened, I understand you're upset and I'd like to help you"

"Help…Winky?" The elf managed to choke out between sobs

"Yes" Harry nodded "I don't believe that you sent the dark mark into the air" Winky looked up in shock "you don't seem the type, I think the only way you would do it is if you were ordered. Now I don't think it's fair for an innocent soul to suffer, so I'm offering you a chance to be my house elf"

"You can't!" Hermione screamed "why can't you let her be free?!

"I believe it's her choice, not yours" Harry coolly replied

"You want Winky to work with for you?" Winky asked with disbelief

"If you want" Harry replied "I have about fifty one house elves working for me, you should understand one thing if you accept, my house elves are my family. We eat together, we talk together and we treat each other with love and respect. If you choose to work with me you'll be offered pay and if you decide you no longer wish to work for me you may simply request to be free.

There will also be no punishing yourself, you will have to take at least one day off a month and you will not have to do anything if you do not wish to do it. That includes revealing your old masters secrets, if you choose to join me then know that you won't be regarded as a simple servant, you'll be a member of my family. Do you wish to join?"

"Winky thanks you for your generosity" Winky wiped her eyes "Winky will join, Winky will not accept pay however, Winky has not fallen that low" Ginny smirked at Hermione, who looked outraged as Winky and Harry became master and servant.

"Dobby" Harry called and Dobby popped in "please take Winky back to my house and tell Stink that she's the newest member of the family"

"Yes Harry" Dobby nodded

"You call your master by his name?!" Winky asked in shock

"Master insists" Dobby explained "in masters house elves are equal to people, we are family, master freed Dobby from his previous masters, all the elves love master Harry. Harry is the kindest and most noble master an elf can wish for" Harry blushed a little

"Winky" Harry spoke softly "if you choose to call me Harry then you may do so, however if you wish to stick with master than you may do that as well. It is up to you."

"Winky thinks Winky will stick with Master for now" Winky replied respectfully

"Very well" Harry chuckled "when you get to my house Dobby will take you to Stink, he's my head house elf, ask him if you don't have any work to do, unless you'd like to relax and rest. As soon as you're ready ask him to inform you off all the rules in case I've missed any out"

"Winky will" Winky sobbed "thank you master" Dobby grabbed her arm and popped away

"You couldn't have just let her be free?!" Hermione shouted

"Hermione!" Ginny shouted back "couldn't you see how upset she was because she was free?! In her eyes that's the ultimate low! Besides, it's not like Harry forced her! He gave her the option to join him and told her the rules that he placed so she was treated with kindness and respect! Admit it, you don't care about them, you're just upset that they don't fit into you're definition of right and how the world should be!"

"Hey don't shout at her!" Ron demanded

"You can't blame me!" Ginny argued "she knows that house elves die quicker and become weaker without magic, yet she wants them to conform to her perfect view of the world"

Some arguing later and Harry returned with everyone to the burrow, except Hermione who had been sent back home. Harry had to stop her from hexing Hermione, although in reality he didn't know why he did that. He placed a 'notice me not' charm on Ginny that would last until the morning and he returned home, both of them were too tired to suffer through the smothering Molly Weasley. Harry checked his tracking charm and realised it was still at the stadium of the world cup, he had decided that he'd best forget about it. He'd likely see the man again anyway.

Harry's night got even worse when he returned home, he found out one of his house elves had died. This really made Harry feel weird, he had never lost a member of his 'family' before. Except his parents but he never got to know them, he had no problem with those who deserve dying being killed but he hated the fact that innocent people could also die.

The dead house elf was called Nonie, she was very old and had been expecting to die any day know, it still hurt. Harry knew each and every one of his house elves, he knew she loved cooking with the others. It was a rather fond memory of his, the next day a funeral was conducted in her honour as she was buried near the forest. The elves never ceased to be amazed by their master, Winky who was new was especially amazed. Her great master, the rich and powerful and noble Harry Potter would be willing to dedicate an entire day to honouring a single house elf.

She had been expecting him to just cut off the elf's head and put it on a wall just like any other master would have done. Harry told Ginny about what had happened in a letter, she despite not knowing any of his house elves was very sympathetic, she knew what they meant to Harry. They both agreed that Harry should take some time away from everyone and he did. He didn't visit the burrow or Padfoot and Moony; Ginny sent a letter on his behalf explaining why. Harry and the other elves felt depressed for a while, until one day Harry called all the elves for a meeting. They were all rather worried; Harry had never called for a meeting before.

"Listen everyone" Harry spoke softly but loudly "a short while ago we lost a brilliant soul by the name of Nonie. I remember her cooking with some of you, I meant what I said when I told you all we're family. If you need time to grieve then take it, I have already. I promise you that someday I'm going to join the fight, the fight against evil, I don't know exactly when but I will. And I'll do it not just for me, or my parents but for you, all of you and all of the innocent souls who don't deserve to suffer because of idiots with power.

Now all of you can rest, talk, play, work or do whatever you want to do. But just remember, be happy, that's what she'd want, us to be happy. We're victorious as long as we're happy and willing to live. Others may see a group of elves when they look at you lot, me, I see a group of winners and don't any of you dare let anyone else tell you different!

You're not just the Potter elves, each and every one of you are members of the Potter family and you will be so till the day you die. Even if you disregard all my other orders I ask you to obey the following: live, be happy and be the ones in charge of your life. Never let anyone force you to do what you don't want to do and remember in times of difficulty, remember me. Remember each other, remember Nonie and remember your family. Now, believe it or not I'm still a teenager and need sleep, good night."

Harry walked away to his bedroom leaving behind a gathering of emotional elves.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – Start of fourth year, snogging and the curse

Soon it was the start of the fourth year; Sirius dropped Harry off at the train station along with Remus. As soon as he was on the train, he and Ginny found a compartment, this time he wasted no time in placing the necessary charms to keep out unwanted guests. The two talked and Harry told her about his little speech, needless to say she was proud.

Soon one of Harry's charms went off, it alerted him to when 'unwanted' people tried to enter, the twins or Neville or anyone else he liked would cause it to make a whistle sound whereas anyone he didn't like would result in a screech. Harry removed the silencing charm so he could hear who it was.

"Harry Potter!" Hermione shrieked "you will open this door right now, and you will tell me why the unlocking charm isn't working!"

"Harry!" Ron screamed "what are you doing to my sister?!"

"No I won't open the door" Harry shouted back "and no I won't tell you how I did that. As for your question Ron I'm about to snog the living daylight out of her, take a break, eat something then repeat until we get to the castle. Now you two can stop wasting your breath as I'm putting the silencing charms back up so I can't hear you and fortunately for Ron he won't be able to hear us"

"So" Ginny smiled after Harry put the charms back up "were you bluffing?"

"Let's see" Harry placed his hands around her and pulled her into a deep kiss

"Nope" Ginny whispered in-between kissing "definitely not joking" As soon as they got to the castle Harry was called into Dumbledore's office whilst Ginny went to the feast.

"Harry" He spoke "I'm sorry to inform you of this, but I've had a number of concerned individuals who seemed to think that it'd be unsafe for you to remain with Remus Lupin due to his condition"

"Well sir" Harry replied coldly "I don't think who I stay with is anybody's business but my own"

"I'm sorry Harry but the concerns cannot go unnoticed, I'm afraid I'll have to request you're guardianship to be transferred back to me. I am permitted to do so if I fear you're current guardian is a danger"

"Ha" Harry let out a short laugh "the great Dumbledore discriminating, that would be brilliant in the next Prophet article right after forcing 'boy-who-lived' under guardianship. As you can see Remus has not harmed me in anyway, even if he did he's not my guardian anymore"

"What?!" Dumbledore screamed

"Exactly what I said" Harry smirked "you see, it turns out Sirius wasn't as badly affected by the dementors as we thought he was. He requested his guardianship test be taken early and naturally he passed, I signed the necessary forms and I do believe they're being processed as we speak, that's if they're not already done. I have to be honest headmaster, I find your attempts adorable."

"ADORABLE?!" Dumbledore spat in fury

"Yes" Harry continued, unfazed "but that's a discussion for another time. Point is you don't have to worry about me, I won't stray from the better side, Ginny won't let me. You stay out of my way then when the time is right I just may do what's right. You're a bit slow but I'm sure you can comprehend what I'm saying, now I'd like to go the welcome feast. Excuse me"

"Hey Harry" A voice spoke to him on his way over, he turned his head to find Daphne Greengrass walking alongside him.

The two were great friends, not that many knew that. The two kept their friendship a secret for the most part, only Ginny and Daphne's sister know. Harry was rather fond of Daphne; she had been the first Slytherin not to hate him and he found that when she dropped the 'ice-queen' persona she provided really enjoyable company. Her sister was also just as entertaining and he liked the dynamic the two had.

Daphne was also quite fond of Harry, despite being more powerful than she could dream and richer than life, he was nice and down to earth. Unlike the other lions he didn't think twice about the fact that she was in Slytherin. He also got along with her sister, which was always a win in her books and he was so in love with Ginny that he wouldn't dream of doing something inappropriate with either of them. Daphne had insisted that they keep their friendship secret due to not wanting to deal with the rest of her housemates, Harry surprised her by immediately understanding and agreeing.

So far their relationship had been limited to letters, messages, and anonymous gifts and secret meetings with her sister and Ginny. She had initially worried about what Ginny would say but it turns out if Harry trusts someone then so does she. Harry and Daphne even got to the point where they would call each other siblings and invoked the family bond that their decedents had made so they could consider each other as actual brother and sister. They weren't legally but as far as everyone was concerned they were siblings.

Daphne did this because of obvious reasons like the Potters being wealthy and powerful, but she also did it because Harry was the one guy she couldn't hate no matter how hard she tried and she agreed with his opinion on a lot of things like blood-purity. If he wasn't taken then she would have probably asked him out but unlike others she knew it would be pointless to get in-between them. Ever since the third year incident with Malfoy the two made their friendship public, she knew it would benefit her to be under the protection of Harry and as a bonus it gave Harry someone he could trust alongside Ginny. Daphne wasn't stupid, she knew that Harry knew her reasons and that just made her respect him more.

That's not the mention the safe feeling she and her sister got from Harry, even an idiot could tell that Harry wouldn't attack unless provoked or forced to do so, but they also knew that he would protect those he cared for and the sisters felt fortunate he felt they were worthy enough to have his protection.

"Hi Daphne" Harry responded

"Why aren't you in the feast yet, oh might brother lion?"

"Well, my intelligent sister snake, I'm on my way there. I'm late because I spent the day avoiding a worm and an idiot before just recently finishing with an old idiot" Harry told her how Hermione and Ron tried to interrupt them on the train and how Dumbledore tried to transfer guardianship to him, needless to say she was amused.

"So" Harry had just concluded his story "that's my side of the story, why on earth is the dreaded and most punctual 'ice queen' of Slytherin late?"

"Draco Malfoy" She smiled "he was bullying a second year Hufflepuff, I told him to stop, he went on about how his house was better than mine. I reminded him I've entered a sister bond with the one and only Harry Potter and how my house was pretty much equal to his before I allied myself with yours. I also mentioned how you might not like him bothering your sister.

He went pale, well, paler than usual and strutted off. I took the Hufflepuff to the infirmary and I just got back from explaining everything to Professor Snape. By the way did you really call Dumbledore's efforts 'adorable'?"

"Yeah but I honestly just wanted to piss him off. My Gryffindor side is telling me to stab him with a sword and end it, my Slytherin side says be smart about it"

"Wise advice" Daphne smirked

"That's what my Ravenclaw side said"

"What about the Hufflepuff side?"

"Keep the amount of people who are going to suffer to a minimum"

The two talked for a while before getting back to the hall, they went to their respective tables and Harry filled Ginny and the twins in on everything. Soon Dumbledore entered the hall, his furious expression hidden by a smile. He made his usual announcements and then announced that Hogwarts would be cancelling quidditch for the triwizard tournament and told everyone how he'd put an age line around the goblet of fire.

Harry had a bad feeling when he saw Moody, a quick mind probe revealed some very interesting things to Harry. This year would definitely be interesting.

"So my handsome twin" Fred addressed George

"We need to work out"

"How to get ourselves"

"Into the tournament"

"Might I suggest an age potion"

"No" Harry interrupted "You two aren't entering"

"Why not?" Fred asked

"Six reasons. Firstly because if your idea to get around the age line is using an ageing potion then there's no hope for you, however I wouldn't object if Ron or Malfoy ended up thinking it was a good idea"

"First day back and you're already planning a prank" Ginny grinned

"Can't help it sweetie" Harry replied before returning his attention back to the twins "now the second reason is because you don't need the money, just get over your Weasley pride and ask and I'll give it to you. Thirdly your mum would kill you and you'd have to deal with Ron being even more of a jealous prat than usual.

Fourthly I don't want Ginny to get upset because one of her brothers nearly injures or kills himself for a bit of fame and a few galleons. And if Ginny is upset then I'm upset and I promise I'd drag your spirits back into your body, kill you twenty times over and make you apologise to her before I let her hex you" The twins paled slightly as Ginny examined her wand and Harry shivered under Harrys serious stare.

"You have a point" George reluctantly agreed

"Dear brother they had six"

"Yeah but he's only told us four of them"

"That's true my dashing twin"

"What's the other two point's future brother in law?"

"Fifthly" Harry continued "if you two are gone then that makes pranks harder and admittedly I've become quite fond of the two of you"

"High praise from Harry 'the wonder boy' Potter" The twins agreed

"Sixthly it would make things awkward if I had to compete against you" Harry concluded

"You're entering the tournament?" Ginny asked

"No" Harry shook his head

"But you said…"

"Gin" Harry smiled "I'm Harry bloody Potter and something that's incredibly dangerous and likely to result in death has just come to Hogwarts. I'd bet any of you that I don't have to do a thing and I'll no doubt be put in the bloody tournament."

"Ten galleons" The twins said at the same time

"You'd give me ten each?" The twins nodded "deal" The three shook hands

"Harry" Fred spoke softly "won't Ginny be upset if you're in the tournament?"

"Not really" Ginny shrugged "I know Harry can hand just about anything and it gives him a chance to show off for a bit"

"Show off?" George asked

"Yeah" Ginny had a mischievous look on her face "what if Harry doesn't hold back as much and makes all the other competitors look like first years? He'd be more famous and a bit richer when he wins but he'd also show people he means business. After he wins nobody can claim that he got to where he is just off being the boy-who-lived and it'd earn him a lot of respect in the wizarding world. Also there it may shock a certain headmaster if you know what I mean"

"I can imagine that" Fred whispered and he did imagine that "Dumbledore with his mouth open as Harry obliterates the tasks"

"Harry sending a fly into his mouth just after finishing" George added

"And Dumbledore being too confused to notice" Ginny concluded the joint image the four of them imagined

"That's ridiculous" Harry sighed "I'd use a bumblebee, not a fly" The four conversed for a while until they returned to the common room, the twins and everyone else went upstairs. Apart from Harry and Ginny, who had stayed down and discussed what happened over the holidays. Soon their moment was naturally interrupted by Ron and Hermione

"Potter" He spat "what were you doing with my sister on the train?!" Harry smirked before plastering an innocent look on his face.

"To be completely honest I've forgotten, I just remember a lot of snogging. A lot of snogging, so much snogging, tons and tons of brilliant snogging. Slow snogging, fast snogging, calm snogging and even exciting and wild snogging. Oh wait, we talked as well and played some exploding snap, after that I think we snogged again. Ginny?"

"Yes Harry" She smiled innocently "that matches up with my memory, I remember sitting on your lap, you snogging me and me snogging you back. Taking some breaks and we switched up on who snogged who, it was brilliant by the way, I don't think I could even remember my own name by the end of it"

"Disgusting" Ron exclaimed "I don't want to hear my sister talking about that kind of stuff!"

"Ron be glad I don't do it in front of you" Ginny smirked "although, Harry is looking particularly nice right now"

"How about a good night snog?" Harry suggested

"Harry" Hermione interrupted, the slightly jealous look on her face was not as well hidden as she liked to believe "you two shouldn't be snogging so much. You should behave more appropriately, and what did you do to the door? No matter what I did it wouldn't open"

"Hermione" Ginny spoke "just because you've never snogged anyone doesn't give you the right to hate on us" Hermione turned bright red as Ginny continued "besides it's rather hypocritical of you to talk about behaving appropriately when you constantly get in trouble with the teachers. Besides we're young, we're allowed to enjoy our time before we have to grow and be serious. Also no Sirius/serious jokes Harry"

"Damn" Harry muttered before looking at Hermione "I agree with Ginny, we're allowed to enjoy life and we intend to do so whether you approve or not, probably because we don't care about your approval. As for the door, well that's for me to know and you to work out"

"Why don't you just tell us?!" Hermione demanded

"Because you could find a way around it, although you probably couldn't. I don't know, maybe I just like having secrets. Makes me look mysterious don't it?"

"Yes it does" Ginny answered whilst licking her lips "I'd be lying if I said I didn't find 'mysterious Harry' attractive?"

"Can't have my girlfriend being called a liar can i?" Harry smiled before the two began kissing, despite Ron's protest and Hermione's lecturing. Hermione just threw her arms in the air and stormed off, Ron eventually lost his patience and lunged at Harry.

The next day Professor McGonagall and the other head of houses found themselves standing in the hospital wing. In one particular bed , Ronald Weasley lay. Fortunately he wasn't missing any teeth this time, Madam Pomfrey was just thankful she didn't have to waste potions growing another tooth for him. He didn't have a black eye either, but he was missing most of his clothes except his boxers. What was weird was the fact that his nipples and one of his ankles were red and he was groaning in pain before Madam Pomfrey put him to sleep. She left to fill out some forms.

"Again?" Snape asked once he got bored of the silence

"Again" Was McGonagall's simple reply

"Speak of the devil" Sprout pointed as Harry and Ginny entered the hospital wing

"Sorry" Harry apologised "just took a walk to burn off some steam"

"Very good Harry" Flitwick spoke quietly, not breaking Madam Pomfrey's 'quiet in the hospital wing' rule "I'm sure you're detours in broom closest were also particularly helpful, now would you mind telling us what happened?" Before Harry could respond Hermione burst in frantically, she took one look at Ron but before she could round on Harry she realised that there were four Professors with them.

"Professors" She spoke "if I may, what is Harry's punishment?"

"We haven't discussed one yet" McGonagall replied "we were about to ask Mr Potter for his side of the story before checking with Mr Weasley for his."

"Well it's obvious Harry attacked him" Hermione roared "we were talking then I went upstairs to go sleep, leaving him with Harry and Ginny, the next thing I know I wake up and I heard he's in hospital"

"Miss Granger" Snape drawled "what you've admitted to is Potter and the Weasleys were simply left in each other's company, that is not a punishable offence and we haven't been given sufficient reason to believe he did attack Mr Weasley, no doubt he'd agree with your statement but you'll excuse me if I don't take his word at face value"

"Why not?!" Hermione practically screamed

"Probably because he's a biased git" Harry muttered, just loud enough to be heard.

"Indeed" Snape nodded "this is the third incident in which Mr Weasley has been involved in a physical altercation with Mr Potter. It seems to me that he's finally learnt not to attack him in front of the entire common room. Needless to say you'll forgive me if I don't instantly believe that Mr Weasley is a simple victim."

"But you can't trust Harry either!" Hermione roared "he'll obviously say he didn't do anything"

"Ten points for your attitude" Snape sneered

"Now hold on" Sprout interrupted "the only other witness was Miss Weasley, how about you tell us what happened?"

"Well miss" Ginny began "on the way to Hogwarts Harry locked our compartment so nobody could bother us, Harry just wanted to have some fun as he had spent most of his summer mourning."

"Mourning?" Flitwick asked

"Yes" Harry adopted a saddened face "her name was Nonie…she was one of my house elves. I held a funeral for her just after she died, me and the other elves spent some time grieving and we finally came to terms with her passing" To say the others were shocked would be an understatement, not many were willing to provide a funeral for a house elf, Hermione looked like she wanted to say something about the elves but wisely kept shut.

"Anyway" Ginny continued "Harry didn't want to be bothered on the ride other so he locked the compartment door, Hermione however didn't get the hint and she and Ron tried to open the door. She and Ron confronted us in the common room, Ron was being an over protective prat and wanted to know what I was doing with Harry in the compartment. We told him everything we did, then Hermione started pestering us on how Harry locked the door because she couldn't open it even when she used magic. Harry refused to tell her then she stormed off, me and Harry then began kissing and I don't remember what happened after Ron lunged at us."

"Why not?!" Hermione demanded

"If you were kissed the same way Harry kissed me then you'd be appreciative if you still know your name" Ginny responded, Harry had to do his best not to look smug "anyway I do remember Ron attacked Harry, Harry pushed me out of the crossfire and the next thing I know Harry is dragging Ron to the hospital wing."

"There's got to be more to it than that" Hermione responded

"Harry dragged Ron to the hospital wing by his ankle" Ginny offered

"What happened to his clothes?" She asked

"That was me" Harry answered "I may have in my paranoia threw a few spells at him to check if he was still awake. I accidentally damaged his clothes, they got even more damaged when I dragged him there"

"Why didn't you carry him?"

"Because he was sweaty and smelly" Harry replied

"What else did you do to him?" Hermione wanted to know

"I don't remember" Harry spoke in a robotic tone "it was so fast, I didn't know what happened because I was hyped on adrenaline"

"Miss Granger" McGonagall intervened "until Mr Weasley has woken and given a statement we will not take action, once he does we will take the necessary steps required." Soon Harry and Ginny found themselves in a room with the head of houses.

"It'd good to see you" McGonagall smiled "is there anything we can expect this year?"

"Yes" Harry nodded "Moody isn't the real Moody, he's a death eater named Barty Crouch Junior, he's father snuck him out of Azkaban and tried to control him with the imperious curse. He eventually broke free and went off to find his master, Voldermort." Everyone apart from Harry and Ginny shivered before Harry continued "he has a plan, he's going to get me into the tournament and wear me down.

He's going to turn the cup into a portkey and take me to a graveyard where Voldy will try and force me to participate in a ritual to get himself a new body"

"What are you planning to do?" Snape asked

"I'm going to play along for now" Harry answered "nobody confront him, if we suddenly accuse him then people will ask questions, I have a way to destroy Voldermort once and for all but the problem is I can't do that yet."

"Why not?" McGonagall voiced the thought on every mind in the room

"I don't know if it's the only thing he's planning, there may be more. I doubt he'd tell Barty everything. Also I'm pretty sure Albus knows. No in fact I'm certain he knows, he always seems to have a hand in what happens to me at school. Me and Ginny are going to proceed with our soul bond while we wait."

"Really?" Ginny asked "I thought you wanted to wait until fifth year"

"That was before Voldermort decided to officially return" Harry replied "Dumbledore is a reliability, I have no doubt that he has suspected Crouch enough to use legilimency on him. He'd do it even if he didn't, if he hasn't stopped it by the time the tournament has started then it's safe to assume he has some plan of his own.

I'm going to allow him the opportunity to execute his plan, for all I know it could be a good one. But by the end of next year if he hasn't done anything then I'm going to deal with Voldermort myself. We're going to try and do the soul bond now so we'll be fine if Dumbledore starts to get to much to handle. But naturally we'll keep it secret for as long as possible"

"How does a soul bond help exactly?" Sprout asked

"It's brilliant" Snape exclaimed "the soul bond will give you both full emancipation….among other things. Well done Potter"

"What other things?" McGonagall asked

"Ah" Harry interrupted "spoilers. I promise you I'll explain everything after the bond is complete, I roughly estimate it to be ready by the end of the tournament. Until that point you all have to act as if everything is fine, remember Barty Crouch is as far as you're concerned Alastor Moody and Dumbledore is still the loveable wise leader of the light. We'll talk later but first I'm going to have to go and have a word with Barty Crouch senior and the real Moody"

"How do you plan to do that?" Flitwick asked

"Without them knowing" Harry replied before he popped out of the room

"You can't apparate in Hogwarts!" McGonagall shouted in surprise

"Miss" Ginny spoke softly "it's Harry…I promise you when someone says something is impossible the first thing that comes to his mind are the words 'challenge accepted'"

Alastor Moody (the real one) was miserable, not only did he get captured by a death eater , he was also locked in his own trunk. He had never been so embarrassed or depressed, the bastard took his eye and leg as well, the only thing that brought a smile to his face was the thought of escaping.

"Moody" A demonic voice spoke, Moody's first instinct was to draw his wand but he realised it was no longer there. He looked up and instead of seeing the death eater, he saw someone who looked a hell of a lot scarier.

In front of him was a person wearing black combat boots and trousers, on both of his legs was a knife holster with a knife in each. A black shirt that seemed to meld to his skin, covering not just his body but his arms and on his hands were thin black gloves. He wore a black hood that covered his entire face.

"Who are you?" Moody demanded "you're not Barty Crouch!"

"Calm yourself" The figure spoke but he did little to actually calm him, in fact the man rather reminded moody of a Dementor. "Barty Crouch has kidnapped you and is using Polyjuice potion to portray you. He intends to force Harry Potter into the tri-wizard tournament to wear him down and then trick him into using a portkey so Voldermort can use his body in a ritual to make his own"

"Why are you telling me this?" Moody looked at the man suspiciously

"I believe Dumbledore knows" The figure tossed Moody a small pouch "he hasn't done anything yet which leads me to believe that he has a plan. I will not interfere as I don't want to ruin his plan, which is why I cannot rescue you, if he has chosen not to rescue you then I won't interfere. Do you understand?"

"I suppose" Moody growled "what's this?"

"By the end of the tournament, if Dumbledore has not done anything to rid us of Voldermort than I shall take matters into my own hands and do things my way. Inside the pouch is a shrunken multi compartment trunk, just like the one we're in. In the trunk there are food and medicine along with a toilet, hopefully this will make things easier for you. Say my name if you wish to enlarge it then say 'shrink' to make it smaller. I'd advise not letting Crouch know you have it"

"Why are you doing this?" Moody asked

"I belong to neither the light nor the dark" The figure proclaimed "I am the product of their war. I am the product of pure evil and the unwillingness to vanquish it. I should not exist, yet here I am. I'm giving the light a chance to rid the world of darkness, however I will not allow innocents to suffer as I do so." The retired Auror had risen an eyebrow at his claims.

"What's your name?" He asked, the hooded man seemed to ponder over his answer.

"I am the curse used to rid the innocents of evil, I am the curse that reminds people that the devil exists, I am the curse and I'm the here to stay" A flash of light followed and Moody was left on his own.

"Great" He mumbled "another crazy person for me to deal with. Crazy or not, this 'Curse' does interest me."

Harry apparate back into the room with Ginny and the other heads, they all yelped in surprise when he entered. He removed his hood and was instantly wearing his regular school clothes again.

"Should I even ask?" McGonagall whispered

"I wouldn't" Harry smiled "I will explain everything to you all in time but just know there are some things I cannot tell you despite how much I want to tell you. And no I can't tell you why I can't tell you."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – Tri-wizard Champions

Soon came the day when the other students would arrive from the foreign schools, but first came Moody's first lesson. He immediately started showing the three unforgivable curses on a spider.

Neville looked absolutely petrified when he saw the torture curse, Neville had told him about his parents before. Harry felt bad for him, sadly he couldn't fix a broken mind. He could fix many things but that wasn't one of them, Harry also felt disgusted knowing the curse was casted by one of the people responsible. Soon the imposter began practicing the imperious curse on people and telling them to resist, he called them up one at a time and it was rather hilarious watching people do weird and random things like hopping and skipping.

He had Ron pretend to be a chicken, he had Draco Malfoy do pushups and he made Hermione rip up a book. Then came Ginny's turn, Harry watched carefully. He fired the curse and it hit Ginny.

Ginny was overwhelmed, everything felt right, but it also felt weird. Like it was forced, not like when she was with Harry. 'Slap yourself' a voice spoke, Ginny raised her hand.

'Wait' She thought 'why would I slap myself'? She had tried really hard to stop but her hand was moving to her face.

'Ginny' Harry's voice echoed in her head 'I am using legilimency to speak to you, try your hardest. You can do it, I believe in you.'

Ginny struggled with a new found determination, she had managed to reduce herself to merely touching her face.

"Well done" Mad-eye barked "a few more times and you should be able to throw it off" Ginny was sent back when he called Potter to the front.

Ginny wasn't worried for Harry, she knew he'd be fine. Ron however stared with anticipation, he'd love to see 'Perfect Potter' embarrassed in front of the whole class. Hermione was curious to see how Harry would react, she was under no illusion that Harry was extremely powerful. Draco was also curious, Potter seemed to break reality daily by doing impossible things but there's no way he couldn't struggle with an unforgivable.

"Imperio!" Mad-eye shouted as the blast hit Harry "jump on the desk"

"Nah" Harry replied immediately, the whole class was stunned. Not only did Harry brush off the imperious curse, he did it he did it instantly. Ron was fuming, Potter had to have some trick he wasn't hiding, or maybe Hermione was right and his sister was the girlfriend of the next dark lord. Hermione on the other hand looked on with interest, Harry was more powerful then she thought, now she had become even more intrigued by him.

Harry was handsome, rich and it appears that nearly any individual who sides with him gains respect, his power just made him have more influence and increased how attractive he was. Perhaps this year she could try harder to get him to like her, she was far more attractive than she used to be and if she went about it in the right way it could work. Naturally under her influence he would definitely not be dark and she'd live a comfortable life once they got over that.

Draco Malfoy felt utterly terrified, Potter was already powerful and now he just brushed the imperious curse off like it was nothing. He had heard stories about how the curse had made people kill themselves or even their loved ones without a second thought, sure some strong willed people could throw it off with effort but Potter didn't seem to even care about it.

"Well done boy" Mad-eye patted his shoulders "never seen a person stop the curse so quickly, you'd make a great auror, But still, don't get too relaxed, remember if you want to survive you need to have CONSTANT VIGILLENCE!"

"Thank you sir" Harry politely replied before returning to his desk. Soon everyone found themselves in the great hall, awaiting the arrival of the other students.

First came the Beauxbatons students, they arrived in a massive carriage that was pulled by elephant sized horses. From the carriage emerged Madame Maxime who was without doubt the tallest woman and person Harry had ever seen. She went and greeted Dumbledore, Harry had to suppress a chuckle when she called him 'Dumbly-dort', then the students entered.

The students were all late teen girls, in thin blue uniform. They were shivering and looked unimpressed and some even looked disgusted at the sight that was Hogwarts. Harry didn't blame them once the male population saw the girls, they began cheering, cat calling and some were even whooping at the sight of the French beauties. All the Hogwarts girls were less than happy, Harry could see that the French girls were uncomfortable and so was Ginny but Harry hypothesized that that was because the imperious curse left her a bit tired and the noise wasn't helping.

"HEY!" Harry shouted and the hall immediately slipped into silence and everyone looked at Harry, who didn't shout once he knew everyone was looking at him "how about you all try that greeting again without acting like apes?" Some of the boys had the decency to look ashamed, others felt Harry was wrong but wisely kept shut. Needless to say the Hogwarts girls were a bit more appreciative of him and the French girls were left wondering why everyone was listening to him.

"You can't…" Draco Malfoy started, but stopped when he saw Potter narrow his eyes, he shrunk into his seat. He knew the fact that they were in public wouldn't stop Potter if he got really angry.

The girls slowly made their way to their seats, all wondering why the entire school seemed to listen to the raven-haired boy. One girl in particular, Fleur Delacour was especially interested in the green eyed boy. Her first impression was he was an arrogant pureblood but upon contemplation she realized that was probably not true, no rich and arrogant person would shout at a hall of people for disturbing some foreign girls.

Admittedly the boy was handsome, his very presence radiated power and Fleur for a moment suspected the boy was a Veela like her. Many people were under the disillusion that she was part Veela, there was no such thing but she was still discriminated against, all the girls thought she'd steal their boyfriends whilst the boys only saw her for her looks. She always noticed the look in boy's eyes when they saw her, however she didn't see it when the boy looked at her.

She did notice him having the look when he looked at the red headed girl beside him, she was definitely not Veela either so she couldn't understand his reaction. Upon closer inspection she realized that the look he gave that girl was more powerful, more real than anything she had ever experienced. Normally Fleur never took an interest in boys, but she had to admit that this boy intrigued her.

Next came the Drumstrang students from Bulgaria, each and every one of them had an intimidating presence, there were also various whispers about how Victor Krum was one of them, the Headmaster greeted Dumbledore and a little while later everyone was allowed to leave. In the common room the twins were discussing the tournament with Harry and Ginny.

"I think Victor's going to be the Drumstrang champion" Ginny said

"True" Fred agreed "I bet that's what the headmaster is hoping will happen"

"Yeah" George nodded "it'd look good if awesome"

"Quidditch star Victor Krum was champion" Fred completed

"Lay off him guys" Harry spoke softly "I saw Victor when everyone was looking at him, from what I understand he hates his fame as much as I do"

"You what?!" Ron blurted out and the entire common room watched with anticipation "why would Krum hate his fame?! And what the bloody hell do you mean you hate fame?!"

"Well Ron it's like grades" Harry simply replied "everyone wants good grades but those with good grades know it's hard and requires effort. If you had one ambitious bone in your body and actually put effort into something other than annoying me than you could probably have good grades and be famous too.

Though I doubt it, if you thought fame or grades were important enough you'd put the effort in. The fact that you haven't leads me to believe you're either stupid or a baby, or a stupid baby. If you want it so bad then go and take it, don't whine at those who already have it."

"Shut up Potter!" Ron spat with his fist clenched tightly

"Go ahead Ron" Ginny smirked "throw another punch at Harry, I'd like to see you explaining to the teachers and mum why Harry ended up beating you up a fourth time."

"Me too" George sighed as he imagined it

"Ronnikins" Fred spoke "I would advise you to control your temper around our future brother-in-law"

"Brother….in…law?!" Ron lost use of his tongue

"Of course" George laughed

"It's inevitable" Fred explained "once they're of age I can imagine Harry bending down on one knee and giving her a ring the second her birthday starts"

"Oi" Ginny spoke in a jokey tone "that's my dream thank you, you two will have to get your own"

"You can't marry him!" Ron blurted out

"First of all Ron don't tell me who I can and cannot marry" Ginny stared at her brother with narrowed eyes "now, would you kindly tell me why I can't marry my boyfriend of two years in the future?"

"Because he's just using you"

"Using me?" Ginny always expected her brother had been dropped on the head "Ron Harry's richer than I could ever be and despite his insistence that I'm the best looking girl in the school there are definitely better looking girls who would be more willing to do what he says than me. What would Harry gain if he 'used me'?" Ron struggled to come up with an answer

"Fine but doesn't that tell you he's a liar if he says you're the best looking in school?"

"Nice job not hurting your sisters feelings" Harry sarcastically replied "and for your information I stand by what I said. I don't know where she falls into in your standards but for me she's perfect"

"But Ginny" Ron ignored Harry "if you get with him than people will think you're just after his money and fame!"

"Let people think what they want" Ginny defiantly replied "I was Harrys friend when everyone else was looking at his scar and I was the one he asked"

"But he's a parslemouth!" Ron argued "only dark wizards are parslemouths" A collective sigh came from the common room

"What's your problem with snakes?" Harry asked "they're no different from any other animal; all they want is to eat and survive. I suppose I'd be evil if I could talk to dogs as well"

"Please, you're clearly dark" Ron exclaimed "you have a dragon and you talk to Slytherin's and everything"

"So I'm dark because I like animals that you consider dangerous and because I don't care about a stupid house rivalry?" Harry raised an eyebrow "good to know you're the law in deciding who's dark or not"

"Tell me something Ron" Ginny folded her arms "if Harry's so dark then why hasn't he killed you yet. You've attacked him three times and he's never gone further than a little pain and embarrassment."

"True" Fred nodded "Harry could probably get rid of your body without any of us knowing it was him"

"Yeah…well" Ron could tell he was losing the argument "I don't want to be related to this prat just because he made you his whore!"

"Ha" Harry laughed, much to the surprise of everyone, Ginny and the twins were very much about to hex him but it seemed like Harry wanted to take other. Harry slowly stood up as his laughing slowly died down "it's funny really, you're the most obsessed with money and fame yet you call her a whore just because she wants to be with me.

Maybe you're just jealous because she'll be richer and more famous than you, I gave Katie money because she needed help, does that make her a whore? While we're at it should I call up the minister of magic and tell him to stop getting noticed more than you?

Besides…if we get married then I'm going to be related to the Weasley family, not you as the marriage wouldn't include being related to the family leftovers."

Fred and George fell out of their seats, Ginny stared at Harry and Ron with wide eyes and a smile on her lips, too shocked to say anything. The rest of the common room were either laughing or looking on in anticipation, Ron was redder than his hair. His fist were as tight as he could make them and he was practically growling, Hermione walked to them.

This was a golden opportunity for her, she could agree with Harry and he would be less defensive around her and eventually open up. She was panicked when she heard that Harry and Ginny were going to marry once they were of age, fortunately she still had a few years to make him realize she was the better option. She had better start working straight away, Harry was pretty stubborn, she considered using a love potion but that was illegal and thanks to Cho she realized it wouldn't have worked either way.

"Ron calm down" She spoke "Harry's right, you shouldn't throw punches every time you get upset" The entire common room looked on in shock, Hermione Granger had actually chosen to defend Harry in an argument "plus Harry could be right about Victor Krum, maybe he does hate his fame, you never know" Before she could say anymore Ron burst out

"You what?! Fine! Go on then and take perfect Potter's side!"

"He's not perfect!" Hermione argued

"Says you" Ginny commented

"Love you too Gin" Harry smiled "hey, do you want to go flying for a bit?"

"Sure" Ginny stood up and grabbed his hand "you can give me some flying tips"

The two walked away, discussing Quidditch as they left the common room. Ron stormed off in a huff and that left Hermione in an awkward position where everyone was looking at her.

"We know what you're doing Granger" Angelina spoke first

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked

"It's pretty obvious" The twins commented

"You're planning to get on Harry's good side so you can steal him away from Ginny" Neville looked at the girl with disgust

"No…I wouldn't"

"It's pretty obvious" The twins repeated

"Listen Granger" Fred started the twin talk

"As far as we're concerned"

"Ginny is our sister"

"And Harry makes her happy"

"Which makes us happy"

"While Harry is"

"Already an honorary brother of ours"

"More of a brother than Ron"

"And Ginny makes him happy"

"Which makes us happy"

"If you keep interfering with their relationship"

"Then we may just have to get drastic"

"With our pranks" The twins left the common room, their threat still lingering in the air. The common room looked at Hermione like she was dirt on a shoe. She wisely left as well, soon it was time for the goblet of fire to reveal the champions. Everyone sat in the great hall with anticipation.

"Now" Dumbledore began "it is time for the goblet of fire to re…" But before Dumbledore could speak the fire turned blue and the Goblet of fire expelled a parchment "let's see here" Dumbledore said as he read from the parchment "It says….' **Your mum** '…..ALRIGHT WHO WROTE THIS?!"

The students burst into laughter, Fred and George had to hold each other up and Ginny collapsed into Harry who had to wipe away tears of joy. The other students weren't doing much better, even Snape nearly collapsed from laughing.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore roared and the hall became quiet "thank you, now as I was saying, the Beauxbatons champion is.." The Goblet of fire let out another note which Dumbledore read " **Fleur Delacour** " He announced, Fleur stood up and took her parchment, she shook Dumbledore's hand and left the room.

"The Drumstrang champion is…" Another note appeared " **Victor Krum"** Victor stood up, he looked a bit resigned but he took his parchment and left as well.

"Now" Dumbledore spoke as the goblet vomited out another note "the Hogwarts Champion is….R...Ronald…Weasley, **Ronald Weasley**!" Ron looked absolutely thrilled, he ran up to the Professor and took his parchment before violently shaking his hand. He then rushed off to the champions room.

"Did you have something to do with this?" Ginny whispered

"No idea what you're on about" Harry lied, then Ginny hit him on the arm "okay, I'll tell you later"

"Now" Dumbledore continued, at least he was about to do so when another note came out "what now?" He mumbled before he read the note "Harry Potter…. **Harry Potter**!" Harry plastered a shock looked on his face, which was hard to do when the twins discreetly shoved money into his hands.

"Yes sir?" He asked

"You've been chosen" Dumbledore spoke simply, but Harry noticed the ever so slight curve on his lips "please proceed to the champions room"

"Do...I have to?" Harry asked "I mean I didn't put my name in there, so as far as I'm aware I don't have to compete"

"We can discuss this matter further in the champions room"

"Fine" Harry stood up, he was about to leave but then turned to address the crowd "just to avoid future problems between students, I Harry James Potter do swear on my magic when I say I did not enter this tournament or ask someone else to enter me on my behalf, so mote it be"

A bright gold light encased Harry before disappearing, Harry made his way through the silent hall, he snatched the piece if parchment out of Dumbledore's hand and went to the champions room. In there he saw Krum and Fleur looking bored and disgusted as Ron was talking excitedly to them.

"Listen little boy" Fleur spoke in her French accent "I do not care about what you are saying"

"You're not the only one" Harry chuckled as he entered the room, Fleur looked surprised as did Victor, whereas Ron temporarily had the same expression before boiling in anger.

"What are you doing here?!" He demanded

"Breathing, standing and talking. You know, the usual stuff" Harry smirked before leaning against a nearby pillar and crossing his arms

"This place is for champions!"

"Yet they let you in" Harry replied, Victor had a slight curve on his lips as did Fleur "listen Weasley, I'm here because Dumbledore made me come here. I'd have rather left with the other students, if I did then me and Ginny could probably be 'talking' with each other right now."

It was at this moment that Dumbledore burst in the room followed by Madam Maxine, Barty Crouch, Ludo Bagman, Igor Karkaroff, Professor Snape and McGonagall.

"Harry" Dumbledore roared "did you put your name in the goblet of fire?"

"I literally swore I didn't on my magic in front of everyone" Harry replied slowly

"Really?" Fleur raised a delicate eyebrow

"It's true" McGonagall spoke "admittedly he could have found a safer way to prove his innocence but he has without any doubt proved his innocence in that matter"

"Brilliant" Harry exclaimed "I assume that means I don't have to compete" Harry was going to compete but he did want to see what Dumbledore's response was.

"I'm sorry Harry" Dumbledore spoke first "but I'm afraid you must, though you never entered the contract willingly, someone has entered you on your behalf. I'm sorry but you must compete"

"Oh" Harry replied "so do you reckon I can beat your mum or not?" Before Dumbledore could reply the other school heads began arguing about Harry being in the tournament, which then caused the adults to start arguing. Harry was getting bored so he went to greet the other champions.

"Hi" He spoke politely "I'm Harry Potter, I know your names from when they were announced, I apologies for barging into your tournament and stealing your spotlight. Believe me when I say I would have liked nothing better than for someone else to be the center of attention for once, but it appears that you two at least know what I'm talking about." Harry extended his hand

"Victor Krum" Victor shook his hand "Vat do you mean ve know what you are talking about?"

"I'm observant" Harry replied "I saw you when you arrived and when you're name was called, you don't seem to like the attention either. From what I've seen of you in games you play for fun, not because you want fame, much like me. Am I right?"

"You are correct" Victor spoke in his gruff voice

"Fleur Delacour" Fleur extended her hand "and your observation regarding me?" Harry shook her hand.

"I'd kiss your hand but I feel like you've probably had enough with men trying to kiss you" Harry responded once he let her hand go "you had similar reactions and from the I can guess you're heritage has made things more difficult" Fleurs eyes widened

"Don't worry" Harry gave her a friendly smile "I don't judge and I don't believe the rumors either. I know what it's like being discriminated for being something you didn't ask for, I'm actually a parslemouth."

"Thank you" Fleur blurted out after she had overcome her shock "how did you know?"

"The reactions of those around you, angry girls and drooling boys" Harry glanced at Ron before continuing "admittedly you would have gotten those reactions with your natural looks but not at that extent. Either way you don't need to worry, unlike others I don't judge people by their heritage or what they seem like."

"Thank you" Fleur was overcome by a wave of relief and had adopted a slight blush on her face.

"You're welcome but I would recommend keeping the people who know to a minimum, most aren't as tolerant or understanding as I am"

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Ron interrupted

"Case in point" Harry replied "sorry Ron but I can't say, it's her business and it's up to her if she wants to reveal it"

"Whatever" Ron glared at him before talking to the other champions "ignore him, he thinks he's perfect because he's all rich and famous."

"As I said many times I am not perfect" Harry responded "if I was then I might just be able to get my hair under control, I can't flatten it no matter how much I try." Fleur giggled a little whilst Krum smirked at his joke

"Look" Ron spoke again "you can't trust him! He's a parslemouth and he seduced my sister!"

"Vat is wrong with being a parslemouth?" Victor asked "as long as he does not harm people, I do not see the problem"

"Thank you" Harry was starting to like Krum even more

"You say he seduced your sister? The red headed girl?" Fleur asked, both Harry and Ron nodded "I have only seen them for a few moments but I believe you're wrong, I saw the way he was looking at her. Those were looks of pure love, if I may ask, do you love this girl?"

"More than life" Harry replied instantly "I'd gladly die for her, and yes, she has not placed me under any potions or spells, and I would hurt myself before I even consider doing the same to her"

"You can't actually believe him?!" Ron practically shouted

"I've heard rumors about your seeker skills" Krum ignored Ron "vould you like to join me tomorrow for a competition?"

"Well" Harry thought about it "I begin my morning workout at five, then I have breakfast at seven, then I spend an hour or two with my girlfriend and I assume I am excused from all lessons due to the tournament so I can meet you anytime from ten in the morning onwards."

"Ten is acceptable" Victor extended his hand and the two shook once more. Before more could be said the adults returned.

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke "I'm afraid that after much discussion, you will have to compete."

"Fine" Harry sighed "I can see I have no say in this, I'd like to make it clear that I was strictly against my involvement in this from the start and I wish the other champions good luck"

"Very nice words" Bagman interjected "now the first task…"

Soon Harry and Ron left the meeting and walked back to the Gryffindor common room in complete silence, Harry walked with his hands in his pockets and a bored expression. Ronald walked as if he was the head lion, he puffed his chest out and widened his shoulders whilst keeping his chin as high as he could. Personally Harry thought he looked like an idiot but he refrained from pointing out the obvious.

Ron entered the common room first, he expected to hear cheers of admiration but all he got was glares from the other students, then Harry entered and the cheers began. Ginny came up and hugged him whilst the twins patted him on the back.

"You alright?" Ginny asked

"Dumbledore says I have to compete" Harry explained "but I figured that since I'm in it I may as well try to win"

"Atta boy" Fred exclaimed

"Good luck Harry" The common room chorused

"Thank you guys" Harry smiled "it means a lot that you believe me but still support me"

"What about me?!" Ron shouted "I'm a champion too you know"

"We know" Seamus glared at him "but unlike Harry you wanted to be in this tournament"

"Yeah so?" Ron argued

"The point is Harry is competing because he has to compete" Neville popped up "you just want the money and a little bit of attention"

"Hey lay off him" Hermione insisted

"She's right" Harry spoke, shocking the entire common room by agreeing with Hermione "for once" They let out a sigh of relief "Ron is finally trying to earn his money and fame, maybe he finally listened to my advice. Though I doubt it, now if you'll all excuse me I'm going to sleep, goodnight guys, night Gin" Harry gave Ginny a quick kiss before heading up to the common room, receiving congratulations as he did.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 –

Harry made his way to his bed, everything went preciously how he predicted it would. No sooner than he had sat on his bed an annoying and fuming red head burst in.

"You just had to do it didn't you?!" He shouted

"Perhaps you could be more specific with what I had to do" Harry suggested

"You couldn't let me have my moment of fame, you had to have it as well, don't you have enough already?!"

"Listen to me you incompetent idiotic imbecilic" Harry spoke slowly "in case it missed your large ears, I didn't enter my name, I swore on my magic in front of everyone saying I didn't. I notice your brain shuts off when you're angry so I'll explain it to you in simple terms, if I wanted to take the fame from you then I would have entered my name and stopped you from entering.

I'm more of a victim than you, I have to compete in a deadly tournament I didn't want to enter and if I win I get just more of what I've already got." Before Ron could say anything the rest of the dorm mates came in.

"Alright Harry?" Neville asked

"Alright mate" Harry responded "I'm just going to sleep if you lot don't mind" Harry drew his curtains and placed his charms, he went to sleep soundly, not knowing that Ron had electrocuted himself again by touching the curtains. The next day Harry woke up and did his workout, he and Ginny hung out for a bit before they made their way to the quidditch pitch where they met Victor Krum.

He had spent the previous hour telling Ginny how he was tired of Ron's complaining and put him in the tournament to shut him up and perhaps open his eyes to the fact that achievements are earned, unsurprisingly she understood. In fact she was all for it, if Ron wasn't related to her then she would have probably killed him herself. They noticed that a lot of girls and the entire Gryffindor quidditch team were in the stands.

"Hello" Harry greeted him "I hope you don't mind, but I brought my girlfriend along. She wanted to fly with us and she is quite talented"

"It's no problem" Krum looked at Ginny "Victor Krum, your name is?"

"Ginny Weasley" Ginny politely replied "I see you and Harry both have Firebolts"

"Yes" Krum nodded "they are very good broom, excellent for Seekers. I see you are using a Nimbus"

"Nimbus 2000" Ginny smiled "it was Harrys old broom, he gave it to me after his godfather gave him the Firebolt for his birthday."

"Hey" Ron shouted as he walked up to them "hi guys?"

"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked

"I'm going to play quidditch with Victor"

"I did not invite you" Victor replied "I invited Harry"

"What about Ginny?"

"I invited her" Harry responded "we asked Victor and he was okay with it." Ron looked at Ginny and noticed the broom in her hand, he looked back and forth between it and his old shooting star.

"Where did you get a nimbus?!"

"It's Harrys old one, Harry gave it to me for my last birthday"

"You can't have that!"

"Why not?" Harry asked "I didn't need it and I didn't spend money on it, and it was a birthday gift"

"She's a girl!" Ron shouted "you can't give her a broom like that, you should be telling her to learn how to cook not fly." Ginny was not surprised by her brothers words, her mother had raised her children to believe that girls should just be housewives and nothing more.

The rest of her brothers never believed that, it's why she was particularly fond of Bill, he was the first one to tell her she could be anything she wanted. With that being said she was still furious, even Krum was furious, Harry had to actually grab her hand to control himself. It was also to calm Ginny but mostly himself. Unfortunately for Ron, the crowd in the stands did not have the same level of restraint.

"YOU WHAT?!" Angelina shouted while the rest of the girls began cursing.

"Half of the quidditch team is made up of girls" Fred pointed out

"Yeah you prat" George shouted "Can't believe we're related to you"

"Hey Victor" Harry whispered "perhaps we should go and fly at the lake and leave this prat alone?"

"I agree" Victor eyed Ron "let us go".

Everyone left, leaving Ron alone in the quidditch pitch. They headed to the lake, where Krum and Harry had a one on one match to see who could get the snitch first. Krum was pleasantly surprised by Harry, not many people could challenge him, even professional players.

It was a tough game as the two kept intercepting and blocking the other, and Ginny flew around doing the same to the both of them but eventually Harry won. Victor was gracious in his defeat and congratulated Harry, he was surprised by how humble Harry was in his victory, he insisted that it was a very close match. Victor then showed everyone his Wronski feint, he asked Harry to show him a trick and watched in anticipation of what Harry was going to do.

"You're going to do the dive aren't you?" Ginny asked

"I'm going to do the dive" Harry nodded before he flew off

"Vat is the dive?" Krum asked

"Watch" Was Ginny's reply

Harry took his broom and flew up as fast as he could and as high as he could, everyone stared, wondering what he was going to do. Once his broom could reach no higher, Harry jumped up off the broom. Gasps came from the crowd below, Harry and the broom fell down from the air. Krum was about to fly up after him, until he saw Ginny's smirk, he looked at Harry and saw he wasn't flailing or panicking.

Harry enjoyed the air in his face, but decided he'd better focus. He pushed himself back to his broom, but instead of mounting it he adopted his 'broom boarding' standing stance. His left foot was on the back of the broom whilst his right was just under the front. Harry could feel the broom speeding up, he increased the speed as much as he could.

The other students looked horrified as it appeared that Harry was about to land in the lake, at the very last possible moment, Harry pulled his right foot and the head of the broom up as he pushed his left foot and the back of the broom down. He changed directions and thankfully ended up going sideways instead of crashing straight into the lake. His broom did skim the water but luckily that was it, he flew over to everyone and flipped off of his broom, he caught it as it fell down.

Ginny looked amused along with the rest of the quidditch team, the girls looked at Harry with wonder and awe, Krum looked amazed.

"You are amazing!" Krum exclaimed, it wasn't often that the man showed emotion but he couldn't help it "I've never seen flying like that, have you considered playing professionally?"

"Maybe in the future" Harry shrugged "I love Quidditch with a passion but I have important things I need to do before I even consider playing" He gave Ginny a knowing look, before he and Krum discussed Quidditch for the next hour.

Ginny joined in the conversation as well, along with the quidditch team. She was a bit annoyed when she noticed all the girls staring at Harry, she knew there was no chance of him cheating on her but she couldn't help it, it was almost a territorial feeling. The quidditch team came to her rescues by standing in-between Harry and the girls.

The next day Harry and Ginny sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, Krum and Fleur joined them. Ron fortunately took the hint that he wasn't wanted and sat on the opposite end of the table. Krum was enjoying his conversation with Harry, he found Harry to be very interesting, he was young but skilled and he knew how Krum felt about quidditch and fame. Fleur was also of a similar opinion, Harry looked at her as if she was a person and not a piece of meat, he also seemed trustable not to do anything with an evil intent.

"Who is that girl?" Krum asked when he noticed Hermione sit next to Ron

"Hermione Granger" Ginny growled

"You do not like her?" Fleur asked

"No I don't" Ginny violently stabbed her food "when she's not failing to get us in trouble she tries to steal Harry from me, even when Harry made it clear that he doesn't like her. She always talks to us as if we should listen to her every word, like she's better than us. You know she actually told people that Harry needed her because she's the self-proclaimed 'smartest witch in her year'.

She's not even that, I beat her in every class and so does Harry, she also keeps trying to tell us what to do. She tried to force Harry to get rid of his house elves even though they're happy and love working for Harry, she actually pestered us so much that the teachers had to tell her to stay away.

That's not even the worst part, she keeps trying to get with Harry even though I'm here, I see her constantly batting her eyes at him and trying to talk to him"

"Sweet-heart" Harry placed a hand on hers "you're ranting"

"Sorry" Ginny apologized "she just gets on my nerves"

"Is she really that bad?" Victor looked disappointed

"Victor" Ginny spoke softly "when she's not trying to shout at me and Harry for doing something she doesn't approve of then she's trying to make him like her. This is our fourth year and she still won't leave us alone"

"Girls accuse me of trying to steal their boyfriends" Fleur spoke "you are saying she is actually trying to do that"

"Yes" Ginny nodded "she's obsessed, what makes it worse is I think my brother likes her but she's too busy looking at Harry to notice."

"This brother of yours" Fleur spoke "are you sure you are related? Besides the hair I see no similarity, you are kind and understanding yet he is for lack of better words an arse"

"I've wondered about that as well" Harry chuckled "next to me I have red headed perfection, over there is a red headed idiot"

"I think it's because of my family and his own stupidity and insecurity's" Ginny explained "all of my brothers have made names for themselves doing something or another, the twins are known as the fun loving pranksters. My brother Percy was the prefect, head boy and now works at the ministry, my brother Charlie was the quidditch team Capitan who now works with dragons in Romania. Then there's my oldest and favorite brother Bill"

"You'd like him" Harry commented, although he was looking at Fleur when he said that

"He was Head boy in school" Ginny continued "then he moved to Egypt to be a curse breaker for Gringotts, when my brother sees them he gets annoyed at how they've all made names for themselves but he hasn't. Then there's me and I'm the only girl so I already stood out even before I became the best witch in my year. What he fails to realise is we've put effort into achieving our goals, he's just hoping everything gets handed to him.

That's why he's so jealous of me and Harry, he thinks that everything was handed to us. Like I had any choice in if I was a girl or not, not like Harry had any choice in getting attacked when he was a baby. He thinks the teachers do us favours because we're Harry potter and his girlfriend, he either doesn't realise or believe that we had to earn everything. My dad's alright"

"One of, in not the, nicest person I've ever met" Harry added

"I'll tell him you said that" Ginny smiled "the problem is that he doesn't make a lot of money which has left Ron wanting preciously that, the second problem is because he's nice he gets rolled over by my mum. My mum…well she seems nice enough but some of her beliefs are a bit old fashioned"

"Old fashioned?" Krum prompted

"Well for one she believes all girls should be good little house wives, she's hoping that I get married and settle down with kids then spend the rest of my life cleaning and cooking. She discourages me from being anything else, like the only thing I'm good for is producing babies"

"That is horrible" Fleur hissed

"I know" Ginny nodded "if it wasn't for Harry I'd go crazy, he very supportive and told me I could be anything I want"

"As long as you don't die at the end of the day and are happy, then I'm happy" Harry replied "I trust you to know what you can and can't do, and I trust you to have reasonable goals"

"Thank you sweetie" Ginny smiled before continuing "my mother is nowhere near as supportive, she is such a control freak and everything has to be the way she wants. Everyone apart from Ron is getting a bit tired of it, and dad can't really stand up to her. She went into a two hour long lecture when the twins said they wanted to open a prank shop, she constantly argues with Bill and Charlie about their jobs and you should have seen her when Percy wanted to move out.

I think because he was the sort of 'perfect' son she wanted she was very upset when he refused to listen to her and stay at home, she also constantly goes at Bill for his look"

"Look?" Fleur asked

"Well Bill wears a dragon teeth earing he likes and he has long hair that he puts into a ponytail, mother is always telling him to cut it and remove the earing, even though it's obvious he doesn't want to. Oh and she's always going at him and Charlie for not getting married yet, as if it was stupid that they didn't want to get married. You would have thought that three out of seven children leaving as soon as they were capable would have clued her in that she was doing something wrong.

Me and the twins are leaving as soon as we can, Ron however looks up to mother and has inherited her old fashioned views."

"Speaking of your mother" Harry directed everyone's attention to an owl that dropped a red envelope at Ron's lap "show time! Ladies and gentlemen I invite you to watch the dreaded 'Molly Weasley howler' rip apart her cub without concern or restraint" The howler drifted into the air and the show began.

"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU ENTER THE TOURNAMENT WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?! YOU'RE PUTTING YOUR LIFE IN DANGER FOR A FEW GLLEONS AND A LINE DEDICATED TO YOURSELF IN A BOOK! HOW YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD SURVIVE THIS TOURNAMENT WHEN YOU GO THROUGH CLASSES LIKE A MUGGLEBORN WHO HAD JUST LEARNT MAGIC, I'LL NEVER KNOW! I'M ALSO TOLD THAT YOU'VE ATTACKED HARRY THREE TIMES! THREE! IF YOU DO IT ONCE MORE THAN I PERMIT HARRY TO HURT YOU AS MUCH AS HE WANTS! YOU HAD BETTER HOPE THAT YOU DON'T SURVIVE THIS TOURNAMENT BECAUSE IF YOU DO THEN I WILL LAY YOU OVER MY KNEE AND GIVE YOU THE WORST SPANKING YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED! IT'LL MAKE THE ONE FROM BEFORE THE SCHOOL YEAR STARTED LOOK LIKE NOTHING!"

The letter burst into flames, Hermione looked embarrassed as she was sitting next to Ron, who looked more pink than anything at this point. The entire hall burst into laughter, Ron had actually ran out of the hall. Hermione looked around until she had seen Krum and Fleur fight a losing battle not to laugh, Ginny looked as if she would die if she couldn't stop laughing. Hermione noticed she couldn't see Harry, she stood up when she noticed that Harry had actually fallen on the floor laughing. Hermione huffed and walked off.

Dumbledore entered the hall and was wondering what was going on, nearly everyone was laughing and Professor Flitwick had actually fallen off his chair. He noticed the other head of houses covering their mouths and Harry Potter lying on the floor. He then noticed the howler remains at the end of one of the tables.

"Molly bloody Weasley" He sighed

Soon Harry and Ginny had left the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey warned them if they ever come in and complain about a busted gut from laughing again, she'd give them real reason to come to the hospital wing. They had potions when Colin told Harry he had to attend a wand weighing ceremony; Harry was excused when he made his way to the room. He greeted Fleur and Victor and ignored Ron when he noticed a woman in the corner with a camera man. After the ceremony was done the woman approached them.

"Hello" She greeted "I am Rita Skeeter from the daily prophet, I'm sure you've heard of me"

"Not really" Ron shrugged, Rita just glared at him.

"I have" Harry spoke, in truth he didn't like this woman but he thought it would be better to use her for now. If needs be he could get rid of her later "you were one of the reporters at my godfathers trial, I'm familiar with your work. Or at least everything you've done from the trial onwards and a few of your older pieces, I do find your ministry articles to be quite fascinating."

"Pleasure to meet a fan" She smiled, Harry was going to neither confirm nor deny that. Krum and Fleur seemed to understand what he was doing, Ron just glared at him.

"Perhaps a quick interview Mr Potter" Rita looked hopeful

"No, or at least not yet" Harry replied "perhaps after the tournament but for now I'm very busy, training, classes and trying to work out how I'm in this tournament"

"What do you mean?" Rita asked

"Now Harry" Dumbledore came over

"Well Miss Skeeter" Harry replied, ignoring Dumbledore "I didn't willingly enter this tournament and I actually went so far as to swear on my magic in front of the school to say I didn't. However I am still being forced to compete and nobody has worked out how my name was put in, I think it's rather stupid that I'm forced to compete. I mean at the start the goblet spat out a piece of parchment that said 'your mum', Dumbledore read it out loud but I don't see his mother competing with me"

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke "my mother is dead"

"So is mine, people die, no need to cry about it" Harry smiled, Rita looked gleeful and Dumbledore looked as if he was using all means possibly available to control himself. "You see Miss Skeeter" Harry continued "I am constantly wondering how an underage student is forced to compete in a deadly tournament whilst he is in what is supposedly 'the safest place on earth'."

"Forget Potter" Ron spat "if you want to talk to a real champion then you can talk to me, I'll give you a private interview and everything." Rita looked at him, Harry and the other two champions recognised the look, it was the look of a predator sizing up her pray.

"Why of course" Rita spoke in a sweet voice "why don't you follow me and I'll conduct a private interview? " She led Ron off and the others just smirked, as they left the room.

"Guys" Harry spoke "I need you to come with me, I need to tell you something in private."

Harry met up with Hagrid that evening, he told him all about how he had to try and retrieve an from a dragon for the first task. Harry wasn't worried, he knew at least ten ways off the tip of his head but he was going to go for the most impressive. Harry had told Fleur and Krum all about fake Mad-eye and his plan to get him into the tournament, he had the heads of houses back him up. Fleur and Victor agreed to let him win, they were forced to compete by their school leaders anyway and they had heard what Harry was capable of doing.

They knew that despite his younger age, he was still probably the most dangerous competitor there. They had agreed to go about the first two tasks as normal but then let Harry win the third. Soon came the day of the first task, the champions had gathered in the tent when they were given their assigned dragon. Ron got the weakest and grinned at the fact, he looked gleeful when he saw Harry get the horntail.

"So Potter" Ron smiled "you like horntails so much, I wonder how much you'd like them after the task"

"Probably just as much" Harry shrugged "the dragon didn't ask to be here, it was forced and it's just trying to protect its eggs. I don't blame it in all honesty, I mean how would you like it if i placed you in front of a whole stadium of people while someone tries to steal what is essentially your family?"

"You're mental" Ron brushed past him as he went to try and make small talk with the other champions, who just ignored him. Soon the adults left and the champion waited to be called. Victor and Fleur looked nervous, and mentally went over their strategies. Harry was talking with Ginny once she arrived. Ron felt pretty confident, if his brother Charlie could handle dragons then so could he, he was going to enjoy winning this task and watching Potter fail. First Fleur was called; Harry and Krum wished her luck as she left. Then came Krum's turn, Harry wished him luck as well and he left.

"Alright Harry" Ginny spoke "which strategy are you going to go with?"

"Well I'm going to go with the second one we came up with, I figure that it would get me the most points and a bigger impact"

"Like it'd matter" Ron drawled "you won't beat me"

"Ron" Ginny sighed "do you even have a strategy?"

"Like I'd need one, it's just a dragon, Charlie deals with them all the time"

"I can tell" Harry spoke "you know how I can tell, the burn marks on his arm"

"Ron" Ginny interrupted before Ron could say anything else "you do realise that when Charlie deals with dragons it's with at least three other dragon handlers?"

"Yeah but that's just extra precautions, like you'd need more than one person for an over grown lizard. If Potter can handle that horntail then I can handle my dragon"

"You're comparing a dragon that was a baby and basically thought that Harry was his dad to a massive fully grown and extra protective mother dragon" Ginny spoke slowly, before Ron could answer he was sent out, they heard the announcements of his arrival.

"Ten" Harry began counting "nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one" A girlish scream was heard from the stadium.

"He lasted longer than I thought he would" Ginny commented "about five seconds longer, but still." She wrapped Harry in a hug and gave him a departing kiss "give them hell and a reason to be scared of you."

"I will" Harry kissed her back before she left to take her seat, she sat with Luna and Neville, and looked on in anticipation. Harry had told her to save a seat next to herself, she didn't know why but she did.

When he entered the stadium he saw, the dragon at the other end of the arena, the crowd was deafening. He saw the judges looking particularly interested. He started by covering himself in a spell to prevent himself from getting burnt, he stepped out and the dragon instantly shot a burst of flame at him. The crowd became silent, soon Harry emerged from the flames, completely in harmed.

The dragon prepared to fire again, Harry summoned a boulder, it flew to him. Mid-flight Harry transfigured it into a tall shield, he caught it and slammed it to the ground. The flames hit the shield, once the dragon had finished Harry tossed the shield aside and raised his wand. The crowd gulped as flames erupted from Harrys wand and produced a flame tornado that covered him and everything in a meter radius from him.

Harry became unseen as he was currently inside the massive flame tornado, the next thing the crowd saw was Harry running out of the flames followed by….Harry and…..another Harry. At least ten Harry's emerged from the tornado and began running around and jumping to distract the dragon, Ginny saw Harry's Firebolt fly towards the tornado as did the judges.

The broom entered the tornado, several seconds later Harry shot out whilst riding that broom and the tornado disappeared. Harry flew as high as he could, once he reached the peak he jumped off his broom and cast a charm on it to make it fall slower. He removed the top half of his clothes mid-air as he fell down, using transfiguration he gave himself a skin membrane connecting from his elbows to his hips, much like a gliding squirrel. He also transfigured a tail to help him steer.

He dropped down at an incredible speed, as he neared he extended his arms and began gliding, the dragon was too distracted with the fake Potters to notice, one of them had managed to get it to raise it's head. Harry glided down and flew just under the dragon, picking up the egg with his feet, unknown to the large reptile. Harry flew right into the stands where he managed to land on the rail in front of Ginny, he removed the transfigured body parts and caught his broom, he tossed the egg to Neville and shrunk the broom before putting it in his pocket.

Everyone, especially the girls looked at Harry in amazement, some because of the task and others just because of his body, some both and Ginny was definitely in the 'both' column. Harry hopped off the rail and sat next to her, in the empty seat. Ginny needed all her will power not to snog Harry right there and then, she couldn't however resist the opportunity to rub her hand up and down his chest, an act which caused many people to be jealous.

"Hi" Harry whispered

"Hi" Ginny just about managed "I know you work out and everything but I can't find a single bit of fat on you, are you pure muscle?"

"Well I had to look good for my future wife don't I?" Harry breathed into her ear, causing shivers to go down her body.

"Well" Bagman eventually found his voice "it seems that the youngest champion has the fastest and most impressive time"

"Mr Potter" Dumbledore spoke "please make your way back to the tent with the other champions"

"Fine" Harry mumbled, he stood up along with Ginny, when he noticed the dragon looked very upset, Harry took the egg from Neville "meet me in the tent" he whispered to Ginny. Harry hopped down and jumped back into the arena, much to everyone's shock and surprise. The dragon saw him and prepared to fire a blast.

' _Stop mighty dragon'_ Harry hissed in parsletounge and the dragon did, Harry knew the dragon could understand parsletounge but he didn't use it before as asking it wouldn't have provided an interesting show.

' _You speak to me_?' The Dragon asked

' _Yes_ ' Harry nodded ' _I apologise for my actions against you, to harm you or your eggs was not my intent. You see much like you I am forced to be here, forced to be put on show for these people. I had no choice but to compete, I did things this way as I believed that putting on a show would satisfy them and impress upon how dangerous I could be._

 _This egg is not your egg, look closely at it mighty dragon, the egg was placed with you by the people who forced me to compete. I was tasked with retrieving the egg, I hope you forgive me and as a gesture to you I'll ask the red-headed handler Charlie to provide you with extra food and i provide some know to show I am not being deceitful_ '.

The arena was silent as people saw Harry talk to the dragon, naturally they didn't understand a word of it but it was still shocking. They were even more shocked when the wild and dangerous horntail rubbed its head against Harry and allowed him to pet it. They stayed like that for a minute until a few house elves brought some meat for the dragon. Harry said his goodbye's and left.

Soon Harry returned to the tent with his discarded clothes in one hand and his egg in the other, upon entering he put both down on the table just as Ginny flung herself at him. She wrapped him in a hug that was a little longer than most hugs, after finishing the hug, Harry noticed she still had one hand around him. That particular hand was rubbing his back, not like he'd complain. The other champions made their ways over to him.

Krum shook his hand and patted him on the back, Fleur gave him a hug, Harry noticed that her hug was pretty long as well.

"Fleur" Ginny spoke in an amused tone "he's still my boyfriend" Fleur blushed as she let go, she looked positively embarrassed. Even more so when her hand touched Harrys chest and she had to pull it back.

"Are you sure you're not Veela?" Fleur joked

"I was until I saw the crowd's reaction" Harry played along

"Either way I am not sharing" Ginny smiled

"Why have you got no shirt?!" Ron demanded to know. Harry looked him up and down, he saw that Ron's entire left arm was bandaged along with his right ankle.

"I took it off so I could transfigure myself some wings to help get the egg" Harry explained "what about you? Why do you look like I beat you up again?" At that moment Madam Pomfrey hustled in.

"That's because he went out there and got burned immediately" She answered on Ron's behalf as she began looking over Harry "he tried a few stunning spells and when they didn't work he threw a rock at it and it burnt his arm, he then fell back and sprained his ankle." The other champions and Ginny were doing their best not to laugh.

"Hey!" Ron shouted "what happened to patient privacy?"

"Ron the whole school saw" Ginny pointed out "if she didn't tell Harry then somebody else would have? Besides you kind of deserve this, one for being stupid enough to think you can handle a dragon with simple stunning spells when their hides can pretty much stand any curse except the unforgivables and for thinking dragons were easy to deal with just because Charlie deals with them. You know Charlie's better at magic than you and you've seen his burns and me and him both told you it takes at least four wizards to contain a dragon."

"She makes a valid point" Pomfrey commented "alright Potter, you're unharmed but please put your shirt back on before you get a cold." Pomfrey left the tent

"Harry" Ginny spoke as her right hand was moving up and down Harry's abs "do you think you could stay shirtless for just a minute more?"

"Yes please" Rita entered the tent with a camera man who took a few photos, of the champions "these are brilliant, I just wanted to let you all know that my next article should be out by tomorrow" With that she left.

"I'll stay shirtless for five more minutes but I'm staying here" Harry offered

"Deal" Ginny sighed as she continued to rub Harry's stomach, Victor looked amused and walked off. Fleur looked quite jealous and Ron was fuming.

"Stop rubbing his stomach!"

"Ron" Ginny answered with an absent minded voice as she was too busy focusing on Harry "with abs like these you can't expect me not to touch them"

"I know" Fleur sighed "I can't even see any fat on him at all"

"Join in if you want" Ginny replied

"Would that be acceptable Harry?" Fleur asked

"As long as you limit yourself to just touching I think we'll be fine" Fleur slowly joined Ginny in rubbing Harry's stomach and chest "you know Harry, I think you really are Veela"

"Come on!" Ron exclaimed "he's not even that good looking"

"Thank god you think that" Harry smiled "if you thought I was good looking then I'd probably have nightmares"

"Ron" Ginny spoke but her eyes weren't leaving Harry "the fact that all the girls in the stadium were looking at Harry and the fact that me and Fleur can't seem to stop suggests you're wrong. Frankly if Harry didn't insist on waiting until marriage I would shag him right now" Ron looked disgusted

"And I'd do the same if he wasn't with you" Fleur commented "it's funny really, I find one boy that's acceptable for me and he's already taken"

"Sorry" Ginny replied "but if you'd like I could introduce you to Bill, he's no Harry but then again no one is. But trust me when I say he's a really nice guy. I can't say much for his body, you'd have to find that out yourself"

"Alright girls as nice as this has been I'm going to my clothes back on before I get a cold"

"Please no!" Ginny mock begged

"Sorry but I'm not going to have Madam Pomfrey say 'I told you so', she'd never let me hear the end of it" Harry leaned in and whispered in Ginny's "besides if all goes to plan then we'll be married before the final task." Ginny's eyes widened as she looked at Harry, he nodded before retrieving his clothes and putting them back on.

Once Harry and Ginny reached the common room they were bombarded with cheers and screams, it turns out the twins had a party ready. Fortunately Ron couldn't attend as he was in hospital, Harry and Ginny were pleasantly surprised when a picture of shirtless Harry was plastered on one of the walls.

"Really?" Harry chuckled

"Well it gives me to look at when you're not here" Ginny joked

The party raged on, butter bear was handed out, the punch was spiked, games were played, Harry was congratulated many times and a lot of the talk was based on Harry's impressive performance or the impressive visual image he gave everyone. One highlight was when random people were asked to dance in the middle of the common room.

The twins began tap dancing, Seamus did an Irish jig, Neville and Ginny did ball room dancing and then Harry took the stage. He showed off his skills with impressive dancing and included the odd flip or two. At the end Harry was getting complemented even more. Eventually Harry and Ginny sat together in a chair in one corner of the room, by which Harry sat in the chair and Ginny sat in Harry's lap. The two talked for a bit.

Hermione was about to walk up to the two when she suddenly felt itchy, really itchy, unbelievably itchy. She ran upstairs to stop making a spectacle of herself. The twins smirked, they were going to help keep her away from Harry and Ginny whenever possible, this time they didn't go big as they didn't want to draw attention away from Harry. By the time the party had finished everyone went to sleep, Ron had to stay in the hospital wing overnight but he was the only Gryffindor complaining about that.

Harry slept soundly that night, he felt over joyed, not only was his plan working so far but everyone else seemed to like him even more and he made trustable allies with Fleur and Victor. The fact that he was getting married to Ginny soon overwhelmed him but he couldn't stop thinking about it. Part of him wanted her to stay away so she wasn't in danger, but he realised that she'd be in danger whether she was with him or not as her family were well known supporters of Dumbledore. For the most part he was grinning with excitement and had to actually take a sleeping potion just to go to sleep.

Ginny wasn't doing any better, a part of her realised that she would be soon accomplishing a child hood dream and marrying Harry potter, however she told that part to shut up. She wasn't marrying the boy-who-lived, she was marrying Harry. Kind, sweet, loyal and loving Harry. She loved him more than when she dreamt about him from the stories, she could recall her first meeting with him perfectly.

He opened her eyes to the horror and beauty of the world and made her see her family in their true lights, he taught her who she could trust and taught her what real love was. Not only has he given her an opportunity to get away from her mother and be something more than just a housewife, he also made her feel more special than anyone else, even Bill, could. The fact that Harry claimed she was his sole reason for living made Ginny feel two different things, first hatred for Dumbledore, the Dursley's and voldermort for everything they've done to him.

But she also felt happy, Harry loved her for who she was and not just because she was a good looking girl, something he regularly told her. But because he loved the person that she was, in truth she felt the same for Harry. The fact that he was good looking was just a brilliant bonus, she also needed a potion to get to sleep that night.

"Ginny Potter" She giggled before she descended into her sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Yule ball and second task

The next day Harry and Ginny met Krum and Fleur up at lunch, the three talked about their tournament strategies while Ginny went to go have lunch with Luna at the Ravenclaw.

"Was all that necessary?" Krum asked "you could have just asked the dragon for the egg"

"I could have" Harry agreed "but I wanted to make an impact and I needed to show I mean business, it also got me more points as I used really advanced magic instead of one inherited gift."

"True" Fleur nodded "have you worked out the clue yet?"

"Actually I have" Harry smiled "it took me a while to work out what the screech was, I managed to figure out it was Mermish and then I asked Cedric where the prefect bathroom was"

"Cedric?" Krum asked

"Yeah he is a nice guy" Harry replied "my family had history with a few other families, including his so I approached him in our third year about it, we got along and we activated the family bond that we had so he is unofficially my older brother. I have a lot of unofficial brothers and sisters in here. Anyway what you do is hold the egg underwater and listen to it."

"Why are you telling us this? We are your competition?" Fleur asked curiously

"Well I plan to win" Harry smirked "but that means you two should just do your best now before I win, as for Ron, I could tell him preciously how to win and he'd still screw it up"

"Speak of the idiot" Fleur whispered as Ron approached.

"Potter, give me your egg"

"Why would I do that?" Harry sighed

"Because I don't have one and I need the clue"

"Tough" Harry continued eating "you should have got it from the dragon and before you say anything else that's what the three of us did and we all know you wouldn't give me the egg if the positions were reversed."

"Ron" Hermione approached, she didn't notice Harry mouth 'watch' to Krum and Fleur "Harry is right, if you wanted to get the clue then you should have got it from the dragon. You can't expect him to hand it to you, that would ruin the whole point of the first task"

"Excuse me" Dumbledore stood at his table "it is my great pleasure to announce, that as part of this tournament, there will be a Yule ball, I advise you to quickly ask whoever it is you want to take" Dumbledore sat back down.

"Harry" Hermione spoke nervously, hoping all the makeup and improvements she made would help "would you like…" But before she could finish Harry stood up and stood on the table bench.

"Ginny" He shouted and every eye in the hall looked at him "has anyone asked you yet?"

"Harry it was literally just announced ten seconds ago" Ginny shouted back

"Don't dodge the question Weasley"

"Fine" She sighed "nobody has asked me yet"

"Nobody's asked me either, what do you want to do about that?"

"Is that your way of asking?" Ginny smiled

"Depend, is that your way of accepting?"

"Prat"

"Love you too, see you in class"

"Mr Potter" McGonagall spoke "congratulations on achieving a date for the ball, with that being said ten points for disturbing over students"

"Sorry Professor" Harry sheepishly smiled before he sat back down.

"You waste no time" Fleur smiled "that's admirable"

"Thank you, I figured it be best to let everyone know so people don't keep asking. Or at the very least reduce the amount of people who ask" Harry glanced at Hermione who looked like she was still trying to find a way to save the situation.

Unfortunately for her the bell rang, Harry stood up and immediately left, he and Ginny went to class. Harry didn't need to go since he was a champion but he went anyway. McGonagall told him he and Ginny had to open the dance at the ball and offered them dance lessons. Which Harry insisted they did not need, soon they went to dinner and as usual sat with Victor and Krum, except this time the twins joined them. Ron came as well and sat with them, however he didn't say anything, he was unusually quiet and looked nervous. Naturally Hermione took this as an opportunity to sit with them.

"So" Hermione asked "has everyone got a date yet?"

"I do" Harry and Ginny spoke at the same time.

"Hey! That's our thing" The twins joked

"What about you two?" Harry asked the twins

"I haven't decided on who to go with yet" George admitted

"Fleur" Ginny spoke up "you don't have a date and neither do these two"

"Excuse me" Fred replied "I have a date thank you, I'm going with Angelina"

"When did she say yes?" Harry asked

"Good point" Fred searched for Angelina "oi Angelina, do you have a date for the ball yet?" Angelina shook her head "do you want to go with me?" Angelina smiled and nodded "that's how it's done"

"Well then" George looked to Fleur "how about it? Would you do me the honor of accompanying little old me and allow me to be blessed with a night alongside the stunning French beauty? That's you by the way"

"Don't worry about George" Ginny smiled "he's perfectly harmless and he's good enough for an evening but if he does cause you trouble then me and Harry will keep him in line"

"Hey" George responded

"Fleur" Ron blurted out "do..do you want to go to the ball with me?"

"I'm sorry" Fleur replied "but I am going with your brother, George"

"Why George?" Ron yelled

"Well little boy" Fleur replied as she gave Ron a disgusted look "George had asked me first and if he comes recommended by Ginny then that is good enough for me. Besides I do not like you at all"

"Wow" Harry exclaimed "cold blooded! I'm…really proud actually" Ron was too embarrassed to say anything and he ran out of the hall.

"Thank you" Fleur smiled

"Well I haven't got a date yet" Hermione spoke

"Shame" Harry replied "good luck in finding one, now Victor you need a date don't you?"

"Yes" Krum nodded "however I am worried about having someone come with me just for being a quidditch star and tournament champion"

"Well" Hermione started

"Actually Victor" Harry cut her off before he looked around and waved someone over "I have someone who might be interested" Daphne Greengrass walked up to them.

"Alright lion brother?" She asked

"Doing great snake sister" Harry smiled before directing her attention to Victor "now my friend here needs a date and he was looking for one who doesn't want to go with him because he's famous or a tournament champion"

"And you recommended me?" Daphne spoke in mock surprise

"Of course" Harry chuckled "only the best for my friend and sis"

"Well then I'd be honored to go if you want to" Daphne spoke to Victor

"Thank you" He replied "I vould like that"

"Excellent, I'll see you all later" Daphne walked off.

"Snake sister and lion brother?" Krum raised an eyebrow

"Yeah well I told you how I activated many family contracts and gained some brothers and sisters" Harry began explaining "she's one of them, however I'm in Gryffindor the house of the lions while she is in Slytherin, the house of snakes. There's been a stupid house rivalry for as long as people can remember, we discussed it and both agreed it was stupid. We just ended up addressing each other like that for a joke"

"This house rivalry" Fleur spoke "it's a little…"

"Stupid" Ginny finished "me and Harry agree, of course competition is good and I understand the idea behind it but it's sad that it's escalated to such a point that people actually hate other people because of what color their scarf is."

"Harry" Cedric approached

"Hi Cedric" Harry replied

"Hi Cedric" Ginny added

"Hi Ginny" Cedric smiled before plastering a serious expression "Harry, I feel like I should let you know, Cho's asked me to the ball but I wanted your opinion before I accepted. Please, be honest"

"Oh" Harry felt quite saddened that he had to disappoint Cedric "alright Cedric you want honesty? I'd like to break this to you nicely but I figure the truths the best. Cho tried to come between me and Ginny and get me with a love potion, there's also all those rumors about her. Normally I don't care for rumors but she's one of the cases where it's true. I won't hate you or anything if you decide to go with her but honestly I don't recommend it, and if you refuse then check your food and drink for love potions"

"Thanks" Cedric patted him on the back "I appreciate your honesty…now can I assume you're going with Ginny?" Cedric chuckled once Harry winked and Ginny slapped his arms. "I'll leave you two alone, good luck in the tournament by the way."

"Thanks man" Harry replied as Cedric left.

Ginny and Harry then left the group, they decided to walk around for a bit and if they found an empty broom closet, then so be it. They greeted a few ghosts and walked down a corridor when they heard familiar voices, the pair walked slowly when they peeked over the corner. They found Daphne in-between Draco Malfoy and a wall, he had his hands on the wall and was looking at her with a determined expression. She had begun using her 'ice queen' persona and voided her face of emotion, but Harry could see she was uncomfortable. So he and Ginny quietly walked over, without Malfoy realizing.

"What do you want?" She asked

"I'd like for you to accompany me to the ball" Malfoy said in a voice that was more of a demand than a question

"Unfortunately I'm already going with someone"

"What?!" Malfoy couldn't comprehend the fact that he was denied "I'm the heir to the Malfoy family, I don't get rejected. You know how important it is to get yourself a nice pure blooded husband, you know you can't do better than me" A smirk made its way onto Daphne's face when she saw Harry behind Malfoy, a nod from him and she began talking.

"Consider this a learning experience Malfoy, besides I don't need to get married"

"What do you mean?" Malfoy demanded

"What I mean is thanks to the heir of the most ancient and noble house of Black I don't need you"

"I'm the heir to the house of Black" Malfoy growled

"Wow you're stupid" Daphne looked undeniably amused "Sirius Black is the current Lord Black and I'd wager he'd place his godson next in line, who also happens to be the heir to the most ancient and noble house of Potter"

"It's true" Harry spoke, Malfoy shrieked as he turned around and backed against the wall. Daphne walked over to Harry smugly and gave him a hug before turning to Malfoy.

"You see Malfoy, Harry, my Gryffindor brother is the heir to two ancient and noble houses and has placed me and my sister under his protection. You can see why I don't need to get married now can't you?"

"Let's make it clear Malfoy" Harry spoke in a cold and deadly voice "harm the people I care about and I harm you. You had better hope I take a legal approach when I do it" Harry stood waiting for Malfoy to answer, his answer was to run away as fast as he could.

"I'm watching you Malfoy" Harry shouted

"Don't do it for too long, you'll go blind" Ginny smiled. The trio talked for a while before they returned to the Gryffindor and Slytherin dorms. Naturally Harry and Ginny stopped at a broom cupboard on the way but they made it back in time.

"Where were you two?" Hermione asked once they entered

"We were talking with Daphne" Ginny answered "what's it to you?"

"You barley made curfew"

"Well we found a very suspicious looking broom closet" Harry smirked "we figured we'd investigate"

"Sadly our investigation didn't find anything out of place but it was fun" Ginny replied

"I think it was more the company" Harry placed an arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek. Hermione looked quite jealous, Harry was going to make a comment when he saw Ron sitting in an arm chair looking like he was in shock. "What happened to him?"

"His still recovering from his rejection" Seamus smiled

"I can't believe it" Ron muttered "I'm a champion…she looked at me like I was dirt"

"She holds you in a higher opinion than most of us" Harry commented, Ron's shocked expression turned into a glare.

"You think your funny?!"

"Yes" Harry replied "guys am I funny?"

"Yes" The entire common room chorused

"Now Gin" Harry turned to Ginny "tomorrow you and me are going clothes shopping for the ball"

"Fine but you can't spend too much"

"I'll buy the whole shop just to annoy you" Harry joked

"Prat" Ginny smacked his arm "so Hermione, any luck finding a date?"

"No" Hermione blushed "nobody seems to be available"

"Pity" Harry spoke unsympathetically "why don't you just go with Ron?"

"Why would I go with Ron?!" Hermione seemed disgusted by the very idea, she had no problem with Ron but he was not someone she wanted to be with. He was constantly moody and angry, insensitive, disgusting and had none of Harry's looks, money or power.

"The phrase beggars can't be choosers comes to mind" Ginny commented before giving Harry a good night kiss "alright I'm going sleep, I'm tired so I think I'll sleep in today, I'll meet you at the gates at ten"

"Alright, see ya there" Harry called as she went up the stairs.

"Harry" George spoke "I feel like I should thank you, because of you and Ginny I got a date with the one and only Fleur Delacour"

"Your welcome" Harry replied "just treat her right, oh and by the way I think Ginny's planning to set her up with Bill, I'm not sure but just warning you"

"Not to worry, unlike that one" George gestured to Angelina and Fred snogging in a corner "I plan to remain a bachelor for life"

"I expected nothing less"

"What about me?" Ron spoke "you cost me my date with Fleur, the least you could do is get me another one"

"I didn't, me and Ginny just recommended George. If you wanted her then you should have spoken up, and we definitely didn't tell her to hate you. But because I'm a nice soul I'll help you anyway"

"Hey girls" Harry called to the common room then gestured to Ron "this prat needs a date" Harry walked by and went to his room.

The next day Harry and Ginny met up at gates, they started walking out when Hermione had joined them and began walking with them.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny spoke calmly but Harry could tell she was irritated. She seemed to be holding his arm in a possessive and territorial manner.

"I have to shop for the ball too" Hermione responded "I figured that I should be able to get a partner by the time it starts and if I don't then I still have a nice dress either way"

"I think Ginny means why are you with us?" Harry responded

"You're both going to Hogsmead as well" Was Hermione's justification "I figured we could all go together, and we can spend some time together if you want"

"Nah" Harry replied "me and Ginny are going to get our ball stuff then I was hoping me and her could spend time together"

"So that falls into my plan" Hermione smiled

"I meant alone" Harry responded, Hermione didn't hear him or at least pretended not to hear him.

The couple and unwanted tag along eventually made it to the desired location after a lot of awkward silence. In the shop Harry and Ginny began looking around, they were a bit annoyed about the fact that Hermione was looking with them.

"Harry, what about these?" Ginny asked, gesturing to some robes.

"Maybe you should take the green ones" Hermione suggested "they'd match your eyes"

"Sadly Harry is not a child" Ginny replied "the grey could contrast against your eyes and that would look good, but I think you'd be just as good in the black"

"Yes but…"

"I'll take whatever you suggest" Harry cut Hermione off "you're the one I want to impress after all."

"Thank you" Ginny smiled smugly "I think you should take the black"

"Okay" Harry nodded "now let's decide what you're going to wear." Harry lead Ginny to the dress section, naturally Hermione followed.

"Alright I don't know much about fashion" Harry admitted "but how about that white dress"

"I appreciate the offer" Hermione spoke "but I was thinking of going in a blue or pink one"

"I was talking to Ginny you insufferable book worm" Harry grumbled

"Do you think I'd look good in the white dress?" Ginny asked, trying to ignore the fact that the last few seconds actually happened.

"Yeah" Harry nodded "it'd look nice with your hair"

"Well admittedly it does look good" Ginny eyed the dress "and if you like it then I'll take it"

"That was quick" Hermione exclaimed "don't you two want to put more thought into what you're wearing?"

"Nope" Ginny replied "me and Harry hate clothes shopping so we make a point to do everything as quick as possible"

"Come on let's go pick tell the shop keeper our choices" Harry leaded Ginny away "hey, I just realized, black and white, light and dark"

"Oh yeah" Ginny chuckled "it's funny how life works out sometimes" The door told the shop keeper their choices and had their measurements taken so the robes and dress could be adjusted to them.

"My house elf Stink will be by tomorrow to pick up our stuff" Harry said as he and Ginny left, Hermione who still hadn't decided on a dress huffed. The two spent some time looking around and brought some food before heading back. Once they were done they finally saw Hermione come out the shop.

"Hey" She called out to the two "wait for me" But the two didn't wait, they were already far enough away to claim they didn't hear her and decided to walk at a slightly faster pace than usual. Even if Hermione ran she likely wouldn't catch up as the only physical activity she ever participates in was lifting books.

Soon came the day of the Yule ball, the champions were told to wait outside of the hall with their partners for the dance. At the front stood Victor and Daphne, just behind them was George and Fleur, behind them was Ron and Hermione while Harry and Ginny stood just behind them.

Victor wore red robes that helped him look intimidating, whilst Fleur and Daphne both wore silver dresses. George wore a purple suit, probably to stand out on purpose but Fleur didn't seem to mind. In fact she thought it was funny, Hermione had opted to wear a pink dress and had clearly spent some time improving her look as her hair was tidier than ever before. She had curled it up and wore a lot of makeup, that combined with the enhancement charms she placed made Hermione confident she would be noticed by Harry.

Sadly for her Harry only noticed two things that night, the first being how ridiculous Ron looked in his ancient and orange, lacey robes. The second being how stunning Ginny looked, wearing her dress along with the bracelet, earrings and necklace Harry had brought her. Ginny was of a similar opinion, Harry looked dashing in his black robes and he tried to flatten his hair but somehow ended up with a just been in the wind look which worked just as good.

Soon they were called in to conduct the first dance, Victor and Daphne went about theirs in a businesslike manner, while George was having fun and Fleur tried to look serious but couldn't stop smirking at his overdramatic moves. Hermione was getting a bit frustrated as Ron kept stepping on her feet, she would have preferred to dance with anyone else at this point.

Harry and Ginny were the most noticeable, they moved with grace and style and captivated everyone. The girls were jealous of Ginny when they weren't drooling at the sight of Harry, the boys who weren't jealous of Harry felt a bit bad that he was showing them up. Harry and Ginny didn't notice as their eyes were firmly locked with each other as they glided around the floor.

Once the dance had finished and the applauses had died down Ginny and Harry joined Fred and George and their dates.

"Look" Ginny pointed to Neville who currently had a Patil twin on each arm.

"Neville you brilliant man" Harry raised a glass as did the Fred and George "he's all grown up" Harry mock wiped a tear from his face

"Our little cubs a lion" Fred did the same

"Now he has a lioness" George added "and a bird" After some more jokes and banter, Ron and Hermione walked over.

"Hello guys" She spoke whilst Ron grumbled behind her "seeing as you've all danced with your partners how about a dance with someone else?"

"You know what that's an excellent idea" Harry put his cup down "Fred, should we show them how it's done?"

"Lead on Harry" Fred placed his cup down and followed him to the dance floor.

"Wait for us" Ginny laughed as she and George joined them.

"What the hell?" Angelina laughed as Fleur accompanied her, leaving Ron with Hermione again.

The people in the hall were quite amused when they saw Harry and Fred doing a slow dance together and acting as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. Ginny and George were chuckling the whole time while Angelina and Fleur were trying not to. The atmosphere was becoming contagious and soon everyone was dancing with everyone. The teachers and heads of the organization didn't know how to respond to the fact that this serious ball has now become a giant dance for everyone.

"Professor McGonagall" Harry walked over to the teachers table and extended a hand "would you honor poor and humble me with a dance?" A smile pierced her lips as she nodded and took his hand.

Harry accompanied her to the middle of the dance floor and the two began dancing together, they received mixed reactions. Some people laughed and some people cat called, others just didn't know how to react. At the end of the dance Harry bowed as McGonagall nodded and left. Everyone then returned back to dancing with each other.

"Do you want to go outside?" Harry whispered to Ginny

"Sure" She nodded. On the way out they nearly ran into Draco and Pansy Parkinson.

"Hello Draco" Harry spoke calmly "I trust you're behaving yourself" Draco, who was now Weasley hair red, could only nod.

"Hello Harry" Pansy spoke in what she perceived to be a seductive tone, in reality it was quite annoying.

"Sup?" Was Harry's reply "if you'll excuse me, me and my girlfriend would like some time alone." Harry and Ginny walked off.

"Eww" Harry shivered "Pansy wanting me…death first"

"You're such a drama king" Ginny giggled

"Says the queen" Harry retorted.

They soon found a spot when they noticed Hagrid was talking with Madam Maxime, fortunately both of them didn't seem to notice them. Harry did however notice the bug on the wall.

"One sec" Harry let go of Ginny's hand and walked over to the bug "I don't know who you are" He whispered "but if you don't leave now I'll literally squash you" Harry had never seen a bug fly away so fast. "I'll tell you tomorrow" Harry said as he returned to Ginny "come on let's find somewhere private."

That's exactly what they did, after some romantic talk and some snogging the two walked back, overhearing a conversation between Snape and Karkaroff as they did. Snape was looking in all the carriages to see if there were any student inside doing things they shouldn't.

"Well I guess if he can't get laid then nobody can get laid" Ginny joked, Harry had to cover his mouth to stop laughing. After the conversation had finished Harry and Ginny returned to the hall.

No sooner than they got there they saw Hermione running out, tears ruining her make up as she did, the they saw Ron on the floor. He looked in pain as his hands were covering his crotch.

"Damn it" Harry muttered "I would have paid to see that"

"You're not the only one" Ginny sighed

Soon came the day on the second task, Harry and the other champions stood ready as they were prepared to go in the lake. Fleur looked like she was preparing herself and Krum seemed to be going over his strategy one more time. Ron looked petrified, Harry assumed it was because he didn't have an egg so couldn't work out what the task was. The fact that he wasn't wearing anything appropriate for swimming confirmed that belief for him.

Soon the signal sounded and the task began. Fleur cast a bubble charm on herself and Victor partially transfigured himself into a shark. Ron looked like he was about to pass out. However before anyone could do anything, Harry jumped but instead of going in the water he landed on it. Everyone was awe struck as he casually walked on water. Once Harry had walked a certain distance, he stood still, the water around him began swirling and moving. Soon Ginny was lifted up from the water into Harry's arms, Harry cut the rope off of her leg and carried her back like a princess.

Once he got back, everyone was so shocked they forgot that the task was still going on. Harry took Ginny to Madam Pomfrey who looked her over, while he was doing that the rest of the champions recomposed themselves and jumped in. Except for Ron, who really wanted out more than anything.

Harry had spent his time talking and warming Ginny up, eventually Victor returned with Daphne. A short while later Fleur returned, screaming and hysterical. Harry got up and ran to her.

"What's wrong?" He asked in a concerned voice

"Mt sister" Fleur cried "the grindyilows attacked me, I could not save her"

"I'll get her" Harry walked past and repeated the same action he had done with Ginny, however while carrying her back he found Ron was now in the lake. Harry rolled his eyes before handing Fleur her sister, he grabbed Ron and tossed him back up before climbing back out.

"Thank you" Fleur hugged him before planting a kiss on each cheek "thank you so much for saving my sister"

"It's no problem" Harry reassured her "she probably was safe but I figured you'd prefer confirmation instead of guessing." Fleur hugged him once more before introducing him to her little sister who blushed wildly, Harry then returned to Ginny and accepted his victory kiss. Soon the task had ended.

"Ladies and Gentleman" Bagman spoke joyfully "once again the youngest champion is the first to complete the task, and managed to save two hostages, followed by Victor Krum. Miss Delacour was third but did not manage to rescue her hostage, followed by Mr Weasley. Potter has received a full 50 points, Krum has received 40 points, Fleur has received 25 and Mr Weasley has received….0….0 points."

Needless to say a party raged that night in the Gryffindor tower, Harry's back was getting sore from all the people patting it as was Ginny's face when she glared at the girls who kept trying to hug him. Ron and Hermione were the only ones not parting and were sulking in the corner.

Hermione was unbelievably sad, not only did Ron call her an attention seeking bitch at the Yule ball, he also failed to rescue her. She had heard how Harry saved Ginny and Fleurs sister but made no attempt to save her, maybe it was hopeless, she could have blamed her unsuccessful attempts on Ginny but if Harry had willingly saved a friends sister over her then she probably stood no chance. Her mind wandered onto what sort of person would leave someone under a lake.

Ron was not doing any better, at the ball Hermione kept looking for Harry and when he called her out on it she kicked him in the nuts and embarrassed him in front of the whole school, well, even more so when you consider what he was forced to wear. Then he was totally unprepared for the task, Potter didn't even have the decency to lend him the egg or tell him the clue.

Potter had to show off again and walk on water in front of everyone, near the end Ron tried to do what Fleur and Krum did but it didn't work. Not surprising since they were all years above him, but he figured that he could do anything Potter could do and jumped in the lake. It was freezing cold and he hurt his ankle, Potter had to show off even more and rescue him and Fleurs sister. This was supposed to be his chance to shine! He was supposed to go through everything and win and everyone was supposed to love him, he would have too if it wasn't for Potter.

"Hey Gin" Harry whispered "we'll do it tomorrow"

"Okay" Ginny nodded

"Do what?" The twins overheard

"Well" Harry whispered to the two "actually you two can help, if everything goes to plan then it may just be the biggest prank in history" The twins blazed with joy, as did Harry and Ginny. Needless to say they were in.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 – Soul bond

Ginny couldn't sleep on the night of the second task, not only did Harry rescue her first and in style, he also said that tomorrow they were going to get married. Ginny wasn't the type of person who would complain and whine if she didn't have a fancy wedding, her mum would and Ron probably, but not Ginny. As long as it was with Harry she could get married in her room for all she cared.

She was ecstatic at the very idea but she was also curious, she knew she'd be considered of age after it happened but she also knew that Harry was holding out some information. It's clearly nothing bad or he would have told her but she did wonder what it could be. She also wondered why he had invited the twins, she thought this was the type of thing they'd keep private, but then again she knew nothing about soul bonds. Her next thought went to if Harry wanted to consummate the marriage, while witches mature faster than muggles and have a younger legal age, that didn't mean she wanted to get pregnant. Thankfully one of the only things that she learnt from her mother besides cleaning and being a housewife was the anti-pregnancy charm. Although, her mother has seven children, so she wasn't sure how well it would work and had a potion as well.

The next day after lunch Harry told Krum, Fleur and Ginny to follow him. He lead them to the room of requirement, upon entering Ginny saw a changing room on her right with a wide selection of bride dresses and a changing room on the left with a black suit of the chair next to it. At the end of the room was an alter and there were four seats in front of it. The room itself was massive, bigger than any church could ever be.

"What is happening?" Fleur asked

"Ok let me explain" Harry replied "this is a room that can change depending on the needs of the person who can access it, at first only the elves knew about it but I discovered it. I've made a few changes so only I can open it, please don't tell anyone about this room"

"Ok" Victor nodded "but why are we here?"

"I'm requesting your help with something important" Harry spoke slowly "I'd like you two to stand witnesses for me and Ginny while we perform a soul bond"

"WHAT?!" Fleur screamed, Victor seemed to have forgotten how to talk "Harry, you can't! That's illegal!"

"Why is it illegal?" Ginny asked

"For a lot of reasons" Harry smirked "the first being it will give us legal emancipation, the second being the abilities we gain. We'll be able to read each other's minds without effort, sense each other's emotions and teleport to each other. "

"Yeah" Ginny nodded

"Well those aren't the only things we gain" Harry smiled "if we soul bond then magic personally puts gives me permission to do whatever I want"

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked

"Ginny" Fleur spoke slowly "if you and Harry soul bond then due to the ancient laws of magic, as the man in the relationship, Harry is allowed to do whatever he wants if it means you'd be benefited in some way"

"To simplify, I could literally kill Malfoy for looking at you if I spun that it he make you uncomfortable or burn down Hogwarts if you got a bad grade and they couldn't legally charge me because I was doing it for you. Essentially I become able to do whatever I want without the ministry being able to say anything"

"That's vhy they're banned" Victor spoke up "millions of years ago, they were banned by all countries and they did their best to stop people from knowing or remembering them. I've heard of them through dark art books"

"As a Veela I'm also aware of them" Fleur responded "Harry, I mean no offence, but is it wise for someone as powerful as you to be freed from rules and restrictions?"

"None taken Fleur" Harry smiled "and I won't be, the ministry and schools rules maybe, but that's why I chose Ginny. Well one of the reasons, she's not afraid to put me in my place if she needs to, she'll stop me from going over to dark side. Besides, I don't plan on doing anything to a person unless they deserve it.

Britain's not like other countries, people here live in fear of death eaters who still haven't gotten over their fallen master. Who I might add is currently planning on resurrecting himself to his former glory, I've decided to give Dumbledore the 'leader of the light' one chance to put everything right. If he doesn't do it then I will, I can't save the wizarding world if I'm too busy worrying about corrupt politicians trying to lock me up because it would get their pockets a little fuller. If I have to take a vow to convince you I won't kill anyone who doesn't deserve it then I will but I ask you as fellow champions and friends to let me do this" A silence encased the room.

"Why us?" Fleur asked

"For a couple of reasons" Harry responded "while you two are of age and can be sent to Azkaban, I doubt the ministry would actually do anything to you guys. Victor is basically a national hero so I can imagine Bulgaria is not going to give him up without a fight and neither will that headmaster of his. As for you Fleur, your headmistress will have the same reaction as will your father, the French minister of magic.

But let's say on the off chance that I'm wrong and they do, I'm planning not to let anyone know about this and it's very unlikely that they do but if they do and let's say you get into trouble. I can use my soul bond and the fact that me and my godfather have a seat on the Wizengamot to stop anyone from doing anything. Also because you're my friends, and before you ask you're not the only one I've asked." From the right changing room, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass exited followed by the quidditch team chasers. On the right side Cedric, Neville and the twins exited.

"But von't they get in trouble?" Victor voiced his and Fleurs thoughts

"No" Harry shook his head "first of I'll protect them, as students of Hogwarts the ministry can't do much as it's the headmasters job to punish them and at worst they'll get expelled, but then again I could use my powers to stop that. Seeing as I own Hogwarts"

"What?!| Fleur shrieked "how?!"

"It's a secret" Harry grinned "and before you say anything the headmaster doesn't know and neither does anyone except Ginny. So, I'm asking you again, would you please do us the honour of being witnesses to our soul bond slash marriage?"

"Very well" Victor shook Harrys hand "I trust you"

"Thank you" Harry spoke sincerely "Fleur?"

"I feel uncomfortable about this" Fleur admitted "but you did save my sister and have been kind to me, I could tell it was honest, I will do this because I trust and respect you both."

"Thank you" Harry said, just as sincere as the last time "Fleur, why don't you and Ginny go with the girls and get ready, I'll do the same with the boys"

"Very well" Fleur nodded as she lead Ginny away, Ginny felt giddy as she walked over to the girls. Harry and Victor walked over to the boys.

"This is awesome" Harry chuckled "I can't believe you're actually doing this"

"I can" Harry smiled "I've been planning it since the train ride back from my second year"

"Really?" Neville raised an eyebrow "You were actually planning this from the age of 12 and now you're actually going to go through with it?"

'I'm under no disillusion as to who I want to spend the rest of my life with"

"What about us?" George asked

"Not that we're not thrilled to be here at our little sisters private wedding" Fred pointed out

"True but why did you want us here?"

"Yeah you said this was a prank"

"Well Gred and Feorge" Harry addressed the twins "first of all I wanted you here because like I said before I am rather fond of you. Second of all as part of the ceremony we need members from both sides of the family. Bill and Charlie are abroad, Percy wouldn't approve because it's breaking rules and your dad, as nice as he is, would tell your mum eventually. Ron's a prat and no offence but you're smothering mother - smother, is the last person we want here"

"None taken" The twins said at the same time.

"So you want us here because you couldn't get anyone and we were the best pick?" Fred joked

"No" Harry chuckled "I brought you here because you can help explain this to Bill and Charlie later and I trust the two of you and consider you family, and if it makes you feel better consider yourselves a crucial part of this ceremony, we couldn't complete it without your help."

"Important" George repeated

"Yes" Harry nodded "as for when I told you this was a prank, I meant it, this is the biggest prank you could ever pull"

"How so?" The twins asked

"A prank is an practical joke or mischievous act. Mischievous means causing or intending to cause harm or trouble. This is causing trouble so it falls under the prank definition"

"True" Neville nodded

"Besides" Harry grinned "can you imagine the look on the Dumbledore and the whole ministry when they realise I can do whatever I want without punishment?" The twins faces shot up with joy as they considered the possibilities

"And" Harry continued "if that's not good enough for you, consider this the cherry on top, and imagine this. Ron….and your mother….finding out that Ginny….got married without their permission….to me" Harry didn't know if it was his dramatic pauses or the idea itself but the twins hung on his every word.

"Well you've twisted our arms" Fred smiled

"Thankfully you didn't literally do it" George also smiled

"No, good thing he didn't, he'd bloody rip them off"

"Harry" A voice called, everyone turned to find Sirius Black and Remus Lupin standing behind them with Stink the house elf

"Harry" The house elf spoke "Stink has brought Harrys Black and Lupin"

"Thank you Stink. Go get the other guests than the house elves please"

"Right away" The excitable elf popped away

"I can't believe this" Sirius hugged Harry "my godson, the heir to the marauders, about to break the biggest rule he could break"

"Yep" Harry smiled once the hug finished,"I'm sure dad would be proud"

"So would your mother" Remus smiled "if Lilly would've wanted anything it would be for you to be happy"

"That's true" A voice spoke from behind and everyone turned to see the four head of houses

"Minnie!" Sirius exclaimed

"I wish you wouldn't call me that"

"Well you can't give me a detention anymore so tough chance" Sirius chuckled

"I see you're still failing at keeping him in line Lupin" Sprout smiled

"Only in public" Remus replied "he knows that's the only way he won't get hexed. Hello all, hello Severus"

"Lupin" Snape acknowledged, admittedly he was still a bit wary of werewolves but he had managed to convince himself that Lupin wasn't that bad. Then Sirius stepped forward, the two looked at each other, while the others prayed that Harry and Remus would stop them if anything went wrong. Remus stood cautiously, Harry on the other hand had full trust in his godfather and Snape.

"Severus" Sirius spoke as politely as he could

"Bla..Sirius" Snape responded

"I must admit" Sirius spoke softly "I'm not expecting you to want to be friends, but I will admit that I hold a lot of blame over what happened in the past, however I'm willing to forgive and forget if you are"

"Honestly" Snape responded "when your godson first gave me that letter, I thought it was a joke of some kind. I'm well aware that you're doing this to please your godson, or at the very least I'm aware that that is your main goal. However I've vowed to help your godson with all of my ability, I trust him and he trusts you, your apology is accepted if you also accept mine." Snape extended his hand, Sirius looked at it for a few seconds before grabbing it and firmly shaking it. Everyone else remained silent

"Harry" Sprout eventually spoke "may I ask why you're having a soul bond instead of a marriage ceremony, all you'd need is Sirius and Ginny's mothers permission"

"A valid question" Harry acknowledged "I'm not asking Ginny's mother because unless Dumbledore tells her to do so, she will immediately refuse and then tell Dumbledore about it. Besides she already plans to marry me and Ginny"

"What do you mean?" Sirius raised an eyebrow

"She and Dumbledork made a marriage contract, according to Ginny she overheard her mother saying be thankful that Dumbledore was able to 'make' the Potters agree to it, I got a copy of the contract and it says if I die then they get half of my gold while Albus gets the other half" Needless to say everyone present was furious

"I can't believe mum would sell off her own daughter" Fred spoke with disgust

"I knew she'd do anything Dumbledore says" George replied "but this?"

"That's another conversation me and Ginny will need to have with you two, but we'll do it once you're out of school. I doubt your dad knows before you start saying anything. The contract is supposed to make me and Ginny get married once we're of age"

"Percy knew" Ginny pointed out "he seemed very uncomfortable with it, he actually told me and Harry about it in our second year. We told him we knew and all three of us agreed to keep thing quiet."

"However if you get married beforehand then the contract is broken" Remus picked up on where Harry was leading

"Preciously" Harry nodded "there was always an option for Ginny or the head of the family to cancel the contract, presumably to keep their options open or get the family away if I went 'dark' or something like that. This way me and Ginny are married and the contract is broke , so the only people who get my money is Ginny and whoever I let have some. There are also the benefits that come from a soul bond" Harry then explained those benefits, before he went and got changed. The adults were discussing what Harry said after he left, needless to say they were all in favour of him doing it.

Soon Ginny came out of the changing room, wearing a white strapless dress and holding a white bouquet of flowers. As her father wasn't there, George walked her up the aisle, it seemed that Fred had taken the role of Harry's best man while the chasers, Greengrass sisters and Fleur had taken the role of bridesmaids. The girls all wore lovely white dresses while the male population had chosen to wear black dashing suits, as Ginny walked up the aisle she took a look at everyone there. Half of the room was filled with house elves, Ginny assumed that they were Harrys and Hogwarts elves judging by the amount of them.

At the front was the head of houses, Neville, Cedric, Harrys godfather, Remus Lupin and a pretty looking woman with pink hair. Ginny assumed from Harrys stories that she was Nymphodora 'don't call me that' Tonks, Sirius must have invited her. Harry told her he and Sirius were planning to set her up with Lupin as the two were so ridiculously in love but hopeless, seeing Remus turn red next to her made Ginny agree.

Harry stood at the front, he looked even better in his black suit than he did at the ball. His emerald eyes pierced right through her and Ginny could now confirm that her wedding day would definitely be the happiest day of her life. Soon she was side by side with Harry.

"Where's the minister?" Ginny asked

"Soul bonds work a little different" Harry replied "that's why they're so difficult to do, there are lots of requirements and most people don't even know they exist"

"Like what?"

"Well we need at least a hundred witnesses, which we've got. We'll also need family from both sides, Sirius for me and the twins for you, as for the soul bond we need two magical creatures. One dark creature, and one light creature so I bring to you, Emerald and Flame."

Flame the phoenix flamed in whilst holding Emerald, he gently put emerald down in front of the two and both of them looked on as is they were the ministers.

"One more thing" Harry whispered "the other requirement is the love between the two has to be real, first and true love"

"Not a problem there" Ginny whispered back. Harry turned to face Ginny, he took her hands in his.

"I, Harry James Potter, do profess my true and undying love, in front of all of the witnesses here to Ginerva Molly Weasley. I vow on my magic and my life, I will never love another the same way I do you and I will dedicate my life to protect and care for you. I hand you this ring, the key to my heart, the key to my life and the key to my soul"

Harry took a gold ring from Fred, it was simple, simple but beautiful. However upon closer inspection Ginny saw it was inscribed with the words 'My soul'. Harry put it on her finger, the ring then changed size and adjusted perfectly to her finger. George then handed her a ring that was also inscribed with 'My soul'.

"I, Ginerva Molly Weasley, do profess my true and undying love, in front of all the witnesses here to Harry James Potter. I vow on my magic and my life, I will never love another the same way I do you and I will dedicate my life to help and care for you. I hand you this ring, the key to my heart, the key to my life and the key to my soul."

Ginny placed the ring on Harry's finger, Emerald the snake slithered up Harrys legs and wrapped his self around Harry and Ginny's hands, holding the two together. Flame, humped up and perched himself on both their hands. A golden light encased the couple, it was blinding for the rest of the room, as for Harry and Ginny, they saw nothing. Nothing but each other. In that moment they couldn't see past each other's eyes, the two never wanted more to kiss each other as much as they did now.

Harry leaned down, he placed his hands on the back of Ginny's head and pulled her closer while Ginny leaned up and did the same. The two shared a kiss full of passion emotion and pure unadulterated love. The two weren't sure how long it lasted, but they felt like they could go forever. Eventually the light died down and the two broke apart.

"I love you Gin" Harry whispered

"I love you too Harry" Ginny whispered back as the two hugged.

The audience began standing and applauding. Soon congratulations were given, backs were patted and many bones were crushed during some intense hugs.

"My little cub is all grown up" Sirius smiled "I'm sure James and Lilly would be proud of you, in fact I guarantee they would be. Now I expect you to take good care of what I'm assuming is now my goddaughter-in-law and I want both of you to expect gifts."

"Thank you Sirius" Ginny smiled "god father-in-law"

"Not as if you need it, but I give you my full approval" Remus matched Sirius's smile "I should let you know that if either of you need anything then I will be here to help, providing I am capable of doing so mind you"

"Thanks Remus" Harry hugged the older man before turning to Tonks

"Wotcher Harry" Tonks smiled

"Wotcher Tonks" Harry replied "how's the glamorous life of an auror treating you?"

"Just brilliant, I mean the other day someone spat on me" Tonks joked "what about you? Getting married a little young and soul bond married at that, not that I'm against it mind you, just curious"

"Well Tonks I have my reasons" Harry smiled "I promise you I'll tell you eventually but I'm not ready to tell you yet, sorry to sound like Dumbledore but I really can't risk more people knowing than necessary"

"It's not just young love?"

"Oh it is but it also fits into a plan I have, sadly because of that plan I can't reveal the reasons yet."

"Fine" Tonks sighed "I've worked with unspeakables before, and from what I know of you personally and what Sirius says I'm going to assume you have a good reason"

"I do" Harry nodded "besides, who cares about age? It's the feelings that count"

"Too true" Tonks agreed, although she did glance at Remus when she said that.

"Remus" Harry spoke "we all know Sirius is doomed to forever be single and partying all his life"

"You and me have different definitions of doomed" Sirius chuckled

"But what about you?" Harry continued "am I going to get an aunt Mooney before I reach thirty or what"

"Now Harry" Remus started

"Remus if you claim you can't because of your 'furry problem' then I will hex you" Ginny interrupted "now I'm sure that you could find someone who cares about you enough to overlook certain things"

"Ginny" Remus spoke sadly "I'm poor, I feel like an old man, I'm discriminated against for simply existing and I have my 'furry problem'."

"Mooney" Harry spoke softly but firmly "me and Ginny love you despite that, so does Sirius. I like to believe that if dad was alive he'd insist on setting you up with someone and mum would help Ginny with the hexing. You're not perfect, if you were you'd be boring" Remus chuckled a little at that

"I'm a parslemouth, something considered very dark, yet I still have Ginny. I'm judged by my power, wealth and fame but I managed to get someone who doesn't care about that, just me"

"Yeah" Ginny agreed "though admittedly it's a nice bonus. But Harry could lose all his money, be hated by the entire world and all of his limbs but I'd still be here for him. Remus despite Harry's insistence there are more beautiful girls than me"

"Hey Gin"

"Harry, no, you're biased"

"True" Harry reluctantly admitted

"As I was saying before the prat interrupted me, Harry could get any girl he wants and he knows it. I was just a poor, plain fan girl when I first met Harry, I never felt like I deserved him. But now we're soul bonded, and now he's my prat. We're not saying do the same as us, we're just saying if you do find someone then don't be an idiot and let her go."

"But.."

"Mooney don't bother" Sirius put a hand on his back "she's gone into full Lilly mode" Sirius lead Remus away, making cracks about Potters and red heads as he did

"You might have to make the first move" Harry spoke to Tonks, whose hair literally turned redder than her face "it's kind of obvious. Good luck"

"Thank you" She smiled "for what it's worth I think the two of you make a good couple"

The post wedding celebration roared on, the elves had prepared a massive feast and were very surprised to say the least when they were invited to eat as well. At least the Hogwarts elves, they had heard how Harry insisted the elves eat with them, but believed that they were false tails. The room even provided them with a fireworks display and a night sky, something Fred, George and Sirius took full advantage of.

Soon everyone left, everyone but Ginny and Harry. The room had changed, now they were in a red room with a king sized bed in the middle. Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"It is our wedding night" Harry answered her unanswered question before picking her up and princess carrying her to the bed.

"Harry" She wrapped her arms around his neck "does McGonagall know about us staying here?"

"Yeah"

"How on earth did you get her to agree to this?"

"Well I explained that we needed to consummate the marriage to fully activate the soul bond"

"Really?" Ginny didn't know that

"Yeah, admittedly we don't physically need to but I really want to and it is the final stage of the soul bonds completion"

"Lucky for you I also want to" Ginny smiled seductively.

' _God she's beautiful_ ' Harry thought as he gently placed her down on the bed.

"Thank you" Ginny smiled even wider

"For what?" Harry asked

"You called me beautiful didn't you?"

"No Ginny" Harry shook his head before a smile came on his face "don't get me wrong, I think you are, but I didn't physically say it. At least not that time, I thought it."

"The bond!" Ginny gasped "we can hear each other's thoughts"

' _Awesome ain't it?_ ' Harry grinned

' _This is going to take some getting used to_ ' Ginny telepathically laughed

"Now" Harry spoke out loud "where were we? Oh yeah, I remember" Ginny pulled Harry into a passionate kiss, a minute or so later she abruptly stopped.

"Wait Harry" She said "I think we should…" Before she could say anymore Harry pulled out a small vial filled with purple liquid.

"I can hear your thoughts remember, luckily I'm not planning on kids for a while either. Take this once a year, it'll give you a good reason to remember our anniversary" Ginny drank the potion then the kissing continued.

The next day Harry returned to the dorm with Ginny behind him, the two could literally feel how happy the other one was. McGonagall and the other professors had excused them for the week while Harry and Ginny got a letter form Sirius and Molly allowing them to leave school for the day. Admittedly Harry may have had to fake a note from Dumbledore saying he needed Harry and Ginny for something important he couldn't tell her about but in the end she agreed. The persuasion charms and potions Harry secretly snuck in helped as well. Once they entered they were met by Ron and Hermione, unfortunately the rest of the common room wasn't there.

"Where were you two?" Hermione asked, or more accurately, demanded to know.

"How come you two aren't in class?" Harry asked with a question of his own

"Harry it's past one o'clock and you two weren't seen all day" Hermione responded

"Yeah" Ron spoke "we can miss one history of magic lecture, not as if anyone would notice, but you two weren't seen all day and all of yesterday evening. So tell me Potter, what exactly have you and my sister been doing?"

"We ran away and got married" Harry joked, or at least made it sound like a joke.

"You what?!" Ron screamed, apparently he didn't get the joke "you…you two got married?"

"Ron" Ginny spoke "we're still in school and we're not of age, do you really think mum's going to let us get married?"

' _Nice one_ ' Harry telepathically complimented her ' _deny without denying, I've taught you well_ '

' _Excuse me, I taught you_ '

"Where were you then ?" Hermione continued

"We went to nuna" Harry replied

"Nuna?"

"Nuna your business" Harry smiled "I don't think I need to say it but because you dunderheads area bit slow I will, what me and Ginny do is none of your business. It's nobody's business but our own. We don't ask you two questions about what you do in private so don't ask us, and before you start sprouting some hypocritical nonsense about obeying rules me and Ginny had a valid reason for being out late"

' _Or at least a fun one_ ' Ginny commented in Harry's mind

"In fact we're going to be gone for the remainder of the week" Harry continued, trying not to smile at Ginny's joke "unfortunately you two will have to annoy someone else but at least we'll be fine. Gin, why don't you get go pack your stuff and I'll pack mine"

"Wait you can't go" Ron stopped Ginny

"Actually I can" Ginny smugly replied "mum, McGonagall and Dumbledore were notified so there's not a lot you can say Ronald" Ginny brushed past him and went upstairs, Harry did the same. Except he came down about fifteen seconds later with a single trunk.

"Where are you going with my sister?!" Ron hotly spoke, standing right in Harry's face

"Now Ronald" Harry spoke in a calm but deadly voice "you have a choice now, wonder what I'm doing in here or wonder what I'm doing from the hospital wing" Ronald gulped and stepped back, in his moments of anger he truly forgot that harry was more powerful than him, unfortunately moments of anger were hourly occurrences for him.

"Harry" Hermione spoke slowly "I've been wondering, why did you save Fleurs sister? You had to save Ginny but why her sister?"

"Simple" Harry shrugged "she finished her task, or at least attempted to and when she couldn't compete she was worried that her sister was hurt. I saved her to comfort her and show her everything is fine"

"Why didn't you save me?" Hermione asked

"Because Ronald over here hadn't tempted the task, besides I didn't feel the need to do so, it's not like you were in danger. Dumbledore can be a total idiot sometimes but even he wouldn't out non champions in danger, he can't really handle another court case now can he?"

"How dare you call Dumbledore an idiot?" Ron shouted

"You're right" Harry bowed his head "that's offensive…to idiots"

At that moment Ginny came down with her own trunk, and Professor McGonagall came into the common room.

"Hello Mr Potter I see you and…what the devil are you two doing her?"

"They're skiving off classes miss" Harry and Ginny said at the exact same time, before looking at each other and letting out a small chuckle.

"Where are you two supposed to be?" McGonagall asked

"History of magic" Hermione answered quietly

"Well you will go there now later tonight you will join Professor Snape for detention"

"Yes miss" Ron grumbled "miss, Harry and Ginny said they're going for a week but won't tell us where they're going"

"Well Mr Weasley" McGonagall spoke sternly "if they do not wish to tell you then you will not know, end of story, now you two go straight to class." Once the two had gone McGonagall turned to the other two.

"The sooner those idiots are gone the better, now I have a few things to tell you. Mr Black has informed me he has a portkey ready for you once you get home, you may use my fireplace to get there. Also until you two are ready to reveal your secret I will address you as Potter and Weasley"

"Probably best" Harry said as they went to her office. Once they got there they were found Dumbledore waiting inside.

"Hello" Dumbledore greeted "forgive the intrusion but I wanted to talk to Mr Potter about the letter he has sent me."

"I don't see why" Harry replied innocently "it's pretty clear that Sirius wants to take me somewhere and both me and Ginny have written permission to go."

"What I meant Harry is, where you are going?"

"I hope I don't sound rude sir but that's none of your business" Harry spoke in a calm tone but Ginny could feel his emotions and knew he was anything but calm. The images of him ripping Dumbledore's beard off playing in his head also indicated she was right.

"I agree with Mr Potter" Minerva spoke up "the two have written permission and sent a notification informing both you and me, that's preciously where our involvement ends."

"of course, I was simply curious"

In fact Albus was more than curious, he never knew what Harry was capable of and having him out of his sight unnerved him a lot, even worse was not knowing where he was. Ginny comforted him as Harry himself admitted that he had no reason to leave the light side as long as she was alive and happy. Albus simply had to hope she'd remain alive until the end of Voldermort.

Albus wanted to read their minds but he knew that Minerva's shields were good enough for her to detect him, and he couldn't afford to have her distrust him. As for Ginny, the last time Albus doubted it he had checked she had decent shields and no doubt improved since then. Even if she hadn't Albus knew Harry was keeping an eye out. Harry's mind was a tempting place to venture, but Albus controlled himself. If Potter was able to kick or in his case punch him out of another person's mind then he likely had good defences as well.

He watched quietly as those two left, wondering where they had gone. Once Harry and Ginny reached Remus's cottage they took his fireplace to 12 Grimmauld place after Remus revealed it's location as he was the places secret keeper. Once they got there they met up with Sirius in the kitchen.

"Hello lovebirds" Sirius greeted

"Hello Sirius" They both spoke at the same time "how are you doing today? The weather's lovely isn't it?" Sirius was silent for a moment

"You two know that's creepy right?"

"Yeah" Harry laughed "we're just messing with you, I've got to admit this place is cleaner than last time I came here"

"Sirius" Ginny spoke "is that painting in the hallway your mother?"

"Depends" Sirius replied, all of a sudden looking very serious, as did Harry "does her gaze draw the last vestiges of happiness from your soul like a dementor?"

"Does she pull her mouth slightly into a grimace" Harry spoke "as if she smelt the foulest stench known to humanity but refuses to admit defeat?"

"Does her claw-like hands look as though they're about rip the beating heart out of a child so she could eat it and prolong her own putrid existence?"

"Does her sharp teeth and big long ears make you wonder if she truly is a monster underneath that skin?"

"Does she look like she just claimed all of the Devils money after two timing him with his most loyal servant then divorcing him?"

"Does she look like the definition of abuse, murder and everything wrong in this horrible world of ours mixed into one thin skeleton covered in snake skin?"

"Um" Ginny wasn't sure how to respond "she's the one who glared at us when we walked past"

"That's probably her" Harry immediately responded

"Yeah definitely her" Sirius spoke just after Harry and the mood lightened "last time Harry was here he just managed to silence her."

"I'll go and remove her now then" Harry placed his trunk on the floor and walked out into the hallway.

"Harry it's impossible" Sirius called "she's stuck there with the strongest sticking charm known to man"

"Challenge accepted!" Harry called from the hallway, seconds later he walked in holding a portrait of Sirius's mother. "Do you want this?"

"Nah" Sirius immediately replied, Harry burnt the picture and the three began chatting. Ginny and Harry planned to stay there for the day before going on their honeymoon.

The day was going great, except for Kreatcher mumbling racist abuse constantly, but that ended after Harry found the locket horcrux in Kreatchers room. After Kreatcher told the tale of how Sirius's brother betrayed Voldermort and Harry promising to destroy it, Kreatcher became much more pleasant. Sirius and him even started getting along, Harry hypothesised that it was because his mother could no longer influence the poor house elf.

The next day Harry and Ginny took the portkey to Paris, despite Harry's insistence that they didn't need it but Sirius insisted on getting them one as a wedding gift. Soon the two arrived in Paris, and immediately stopped at a hotel. They had to use magic to convince people they were older than they looked but it worked and soon the two had their own hotel room. Once they had reached it they decided to sight see tomorrow and just enjoy each other's company for tonight, until they eventually enjoyed each other's company too much.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 – Family day

Harry and Ginny entered the common room the morning they returned back to school from their honeymoon. The honeymoon was all fun, apart from when Harry teleported to the Ministry and stole the records of the bond and dropped them off at his house. The rest of the week was spent eating, sightseeing, spending time together and doing whatever felt like fun. Both were disappointed it had to end, when they entered all eyes immediately fell on them.

"We're back bitches!" Harry shouted

"Really?" Ginny chuckled

"Yes I've always wanted to say that"

"Hey!" Ron shouted and the whole common room sighed "where did you and Ginny go?!"

"We will neither confirm nor deny anything" Ginny responded

"Apart from the fact that we're confirming that we won't confirm or deny anything" Harry joked "anyway Ron, what've you done to prepare for the final task?"

"Well…I've been…training really hard you know…. Learning new spells like…scourgify!"

"Ron" Hermione spoke softly "that's a household cleaning charm"

"Actually it's a good thing" Ginny smiled "he can clean up after Harry wins, then when he get's home he can take over mums job as the housewife"

"No way!" Ron refused

"Shame" Harry replied "I beat the twins would pay good money to see you in an apron"

"Every last galleon" George agreed

"Just answer the question" Ron continued "what did you do with my sister?"

"Nothing more than your sister wanted" Harry responded "or allowed. Frankly I don't think it matters what we did, it's not like it's any of your business"

"What do you mean?! She's my baby sister"

"Ron" Fred spoke "She's not six anymore"

"Yeah" George nodded "you can't tell her what to do"

"And trust me when I say she's no baby" Harry grinned and Ginny blushed a little.

Ron lost patience and before anyone could say anything he lunged at Harry. The next day Harry, Ron, Ginny, the twins, Neville and Hermione were called into a meeting with the head of houses. Once Ron entered everyone seemed to notice the fact that he had a bandaged right leg and left wrist, a bruised face and crutches.

"Again?" McGonagall asked

"Again" Harry and Ginny spoke at the exact same time.

"Well then Mr Weasley" Snape spoke "perhaps you could tell us why you've once again attacked Potter."

"Well he disappears with Ginny for a whole day then says he's leaving for a week and takes her with him"

"So naturally that provides you with a sufficient reason to attack Mr Potter again?" Snape asked sarcastically "I know you're not the most intelligent Gryffindor but I would've figured that the numerous times he's put you in the hospital wing would've clued you in on how the 'run at him and punch him' tactic doesn't seem to work"

"Sir" Ginny spoke respectfully "Ron tends to have a habit of not thinking when he's angry"

"Shut up!" Ron yelled before he cringed at the pain in his face

"Little bro" Fred spoke "she's right"

"Plus you kind of proved it when you shouted at her in front of all the teachers" George added

"Fine" Ron growled "I admit I should have kept my temper but what about him?"

"I kept my temper" Harry smiled

"Mr Weasley" Sprout spoke "according to the twins and Mr Longbottom, you attacked first and Harry just defended himself. The rest of the common room are saying the same thing."

"It's true miss" Neville spoke up "everyone saw Ron accusing Harry of doing inappropriate things with Ginny. Harry then said he didn't do anything that Ginny wouldn't approve of and then Ron attacked him."

"Professors" Hermione spoke "admittedly Ron did attack Harry but I think this goes slightly beyond self-defence"

"Mr Potter?" McGonagall looked at him "would you like to explain how this happened?"

"Yes" Harry immediately replied "Ron tried to attack me so I side stepped and broke his knee after putting more force into my kick than I intended to, at the same time Ginny fired a spell at him which is what caused the bruise on his face. In my defence he'd already be healed if Madam Pomfrey didn't run out of potions"

"And his wrist?"

"I temporarily lost concentration when I was levitating him and accidentally dropped him on the floor" Harry replied, it wasn't a total lie.

"Accidently?!" Hermione didn't believe him

"Careful Granger" Ginny replied "it sounds like you're trying to make accusations that you can't prove" Hermione opened her mouth before realizing that Ginny was right, so she wisely kept shut.

"Now" McGonagall spoke up "Mr Weasley, I assure you your sister and Mr Potter had a good reason for their absence but if they do not wish to tell you then you will not know and you will not force them to tell you. Now to discuss your punishment, you are aware that the only reason your punishments were never so severe is because of Mr Potter?"

"What?" Ron asked

"Ronald" Flitwick spoke "usually if someone is proved to be a constant danger than they are expelled"

"Yes and you've proved to be a constant danger" Snape sneered "fortunately you've only ever attacked Potter who can handle himself, however the argument could be made as to what happens if you direct your anger on some of the more helpless students." Ron paled "I can promise you that we all wished to seriously punish you from the first time you attacked Potter"

"So why didn't you?" Hermione asked

"Ten points for speaking out if turn" Snape replied "and the reason Granger is because each time we did Potter insisted we lower the punishment"

"What?" Ron looked at Harry "why?!"

"Sadly for Ginny you are her brother" Harry replied "if you got expelled then it would make your home awkward for Ginny, you'd be a pile of rage and lash out at everyone and your mum would be furious and that would also affect everyone. And seeing as I can't live there and stop that I don't want Ginny to go through that"

"You noble idiot" Ginny hugged him

"Bull!" Ron exclaimed "you can't actually believe all that?"

"Well then Ronald" Ginny narrowed her eyes "give me a good reason as to why Harry helped you"

"He probably wants me in his debt or something like that"

"Weasley the only way you'd be of any use to me is if I needed a dummy to practice spells on"

"Enough!" McGonagall interrupted "Mr Weasley as a punishment for your fighting you will be placed in detention every day until then end of the year. As a tournament champion we cannot expel you however if this behaviour continues then next year we will certainly not hesitate to do so. You are all dismissed"

And so everyone left, at dinner the twins and Neville sat with Harry and Ginny while Hermione and Ron sat as far away as possible. Ron, as usual was in a foul mood. Potter had just beat him up and got away with it, again. To be fair he wasn't any happier about the fact that the only person he could sit with was just one of the infinite amount of girls who wanted to be with Harry Potter. He just couldn't work put where everything went wrong.

He was supposed to enter this tournament and become famous and respected amongst Hogwarts, but it all went tits up when Potter joined as well. Fleur and Victor immediately hated him and sided with Harry, just like everyone else. Potter had even got the rest of the Weasleys to hate him. His brothers and dad sided with him while he made his mum constantly naged at him.

Ron was supposed to fly through this tournament, win the prize money, be famous and have tons of girls wanting to be with him. In the first task he got eliminated nearly instantly and injured as well while Harry won in the fastest time. Ron to this day is still hearing girls talking about how 'stunning Harry's body is', it's not like Ron's body was fat or anything. He just wasn't a lanky twit like Harry, then in the second task he was completely unprepared, partly because he never won his own egg but also because Potter refused to share his. No sooner than it started Potter showed off and walked on water in front of everyone, Ron was convinced he was cheating; problem was he couldn't prove it. Soon the third task was coming, this would be his last chance.

Hermione sat, glancing between Harry and her food. She felt conflicted, a part of her wanted to be with Harry and the other part said absolutely not. The first part argued that he was handsome, powerful, rich and would greatly benefit her in the magical world. However the other part had recently become much stronger. It struck her that Harry never liked her at her first year, he thought she was a bossy bitch and in her second year he thought she was a bossy bitch, in her third year he also thought she was a bossy bitch and now in her fourth year he still maintains that she is a bossy bitch.

Hermione knows she could have gone about it better but no matter what Harry never fell to her advances, it seems that all girls who aren't Ginny are just second class to him. She was also rather concerned if Harry was still on Dumbledore's side. Everyone knows he's dangerous, he has a pet snake, he's very influential in and out of Hogwarts and it's no secret that he's really powerful. Many people were saying that Harry could be the next dark lord if he wanted to be, the more Hermione thought about it she realized it was entirely possible.

He regularly defies Dumbledore, he nearly killed Malfoy in his second year, he was about to kill Malfoy in his third, he's resistant to love potions, he makes nearly everyone like him and he threw off the imperious curse like it was nothing. Hermione became very concerned, everyone knew that Ginny was the only one who could control Harry. Hermione initially thought it could be transferrable to whoever was his girlfriend or whoever he liked or respected but it became clear that the power solely belonged to Ginny. Hermione felt like she should pay attention to the two and see what happens, if anything of concern comes up she would report to Dumbledore.

"Harry" Ginny spoke softly "could you…" Before Ginny could speak Harry already handed her the tissue she wanted "Ah…thank you"

"We could have so much fun with that" Harry smiled mischievously

"I know imagine us just doing everything together in perfect sync with no words and nobody understanding why"

Ginny was for lack of better words very happy about the soul bonding. Not only was she married to the love of her life but she could now leave her mother anytime she wanted to do so. Harry told her that she could even go to his home at the end of the year if she wanted, she'd always wanted to see it but Harry insisted she'd have to get better at occlumency, however because of the mind connection he could help protect her mind with ease so now it didn't matter how good she was.

The best part for her was how close she and Harry got, they each saw each other's memories, all of each other's memories. It lasted for about ten seconds, by the end of it the two were very different people. Ginny was initially heart broken when she saw all of Harry's memories, even the ones that she already knew about. But she also found ones that Harry never told her about, seeing the girl Harry mentioned 'Sarah', making fun of Harry and bullying him infuriated her almost as much as the Dursley's. She noticed that one piece of Harry's memory was missing, he was sitting in his cupboard then seconds later he was standing there in his curse costume. He told her that there was a good reason for that and he made a vow saying he couldn't explain why.

Harry however was enraged at seeing Ginny's mother treat her, his Ginny, like that. Memories of her mother shouting at her, slapping her and forcing her to learn to act like a housewife flooded his mind. He began to think Ginny calling her mother a call freak was an understatement.

Both were incredibly upset at what they saw, until the happy memories began flooding. Reliving those happy memories the two realized that most of them were with each other. Needless to say their love increased without the added effect of the bond. Ginny was still curious as to how Harry went from being broken in a cupboard to being a master of magic, and why that was not shown to her, but she could tell Harry was sincere when he said he wanted to tell her but couldn't.

' _Harry_ ' Ginny spoke telepathically ' _after this year finishes, do you think I can go home with you?_ '

' _Sure_ ' Harry replied ' _although you might have to wait a little bit for me to double check the wards, I would key you into them but as a Potter you'd automatically be allowed in. In fact I'm planning to strengthen them and make them better, if all goes right it should take a week or less. You can spend that time with George and Fred, enjoy your family because I promise you it will just get awkward from here. It's entirely up to you, we can wait for a while or you can come about a week after school ends_ '

' _Well, I do want to spend some time with Fred and George before I leave, I know after that I'll only see them at school. I can write to Charlie and Bill and Percy, dad as well. As for Ron, he's a complete and utter arse so I won't miss him much. And it'd be brilliant to see mums reaction_ '

' _Well knowing her you'd likely hear it first_ '

' _True_ ' Ginny mentally chuckled ' _but frankly, I'm tired of her dictating my life. In her mind I'm either a good wife or I'm nothing , I don't know what I want in life. Maybe I'll play quidditch, work with animals or just lay about at home and have fun while you do all the work. But cleaning, cooking and producing as many kids as possible is not my idea of a good life_ '

' _True, I understand if someone wants to do that but it's just not you_ '

' _Thank you, that's why I'd like to move out as soon as possible. Bill, Charlie and Percy did the same, I'm hoping if I do it then mum will fix up but I doubt it. Still it's just a matter of time before the twins do the same, I know Ron could go either way but he'd likely stay there just because he's incapable of getting his own place_ '

' _And because he probably can't cook_ ' The two chuckled before composing themselves.

' _Harry_ ' Ginny smiled peacefully ' _all I know is I want to live the rest of my life with you, and I think you can agree that me being in a house…all alone with you…could have some benefits_ ' A shiver tingled all over Harry as the corners of his mouth went up.

' _Needless to say, I'm in. Just hope you don't mind living with fifty plus house elves._ '

' _Harry I'd live in the potions classroom if it meant you were with me_ '

' _Hey…I'm supposed to be the romantic one in this relationship thank you very much_ ' Harry joked

' _Harry, I was wondering, why are you letting Voldermort come back?_ '

' _Well partly it's because I want to see how I stack up again him in a fight, but also because I only have his memories of what happened until he tried to attack me. Since then he's possessed Quirrell and Malfoy tried to kill you with that diary and there have been random death eater attacks. I don't know if the last two have anything to do with him but it's likely. It's true that I want to give Dumbledore a chance because I know he knows about this, if he does something productive tonight then great, if not then screw him and I'll do it my way._ '

' _But Harry, why on earth would Dumbledore want you to go through with this?_ '

' _I guess it's because he wants to test the prophecy, he knows how powerful I am and he's hoping that I win or neither of us die and he does something himself. However I could also be wrong, there is a big chance that Dumbledore just doesn't know about fake Moody. I mean the real Moody likely had some barriers as well so that's probably why he didn't bother trying to read his mind. However from what we know of Moody and the first war, he likely had a 'question' Dumbledore was supposed to ask him. Perhaps Barty knew the answer or Dumbledore just forgot, either way Voldermorts downfall begins the day of the final task_.'

"Mr Potter" McGonagall approached "you need to accompany me, and Miss Weasley you may accompany us as well" The two did as they were asked and McGonagall lead them away.

"Excuse me Professor" Ginny said "but where are we going?"

"Well as part of the task you are allowed to have what is essentially a 'family day'"

"Huh?" Harry was confused "unless you've broken the Dursley's out of Azkaban or resurrected my parents from the dead I don't see how this is supposed to work, or do you mean Neville, the twins and the rest of my unofficial family?"

"Sorry, but no to all three of those. However if you want to spend time with your friends then you are more than welcome to do so." Before McGonagall could say more they arrived at their location, the pair were sent it. Inside they saw Fleur and Krum talking to their own families. Ron was talking with Bill and Mrs Weasley, by talking Bill was covering his mouth and Mrs Weasley was trying not to shout at him.

"This is all very cute and all but why are we here?" Ginny whispered

"I guess because the Weasleys are my family or some shit like that"

"Well they are now"

"No! Or at least not all of them, I chose my family, and there is no way I'm going to address Ron as my 'brother-in-law' and I'd chop off a limb before I call your mother mum."

"You seem to hate her more than usual" Ginny noticed

"We went through each other's memories remember, you felt what the Dursley's did to me and I felt what your mum did to you. Let's just say I have some very choice words to describe her right now"

"Harry!" Mrs Weasley shouted upon noticing him, she hurried over and Harry quickly plastered a happy face "it's good to see you" She hugged him.

"Okay" Harry replied once the hug had finished "but do either of you know what I'm supposed to be doing here? I know you two are visiting Ron but I don't know why I have to be here"

"Don't be silly dear, you're here because we're your family"

"Right" Harry gave a quick nod, Bill seemed to understand but Molly certainly didn't

"Hello Harry" Bill extended a hand which Harry shook

"Hi Bill, thanks for coming" Bill noticed that Harrys voice seemed genuine that time.

"Bill" Ginny threw her arms around him and hugged him

"Hello sis" Bill hugged her back

"What are you doing here?" Ron and his mother asked at the same time

"Harry invited me" Ginny said as soon as the hug had finished "I am his wi…girlfriend you know"

' _Smooth_ '

' _Shut up Harry_ '

"Harry dear" Molly turned to him "that's kind of you but you really didn't need to bring Ginny"

"I don't need all my teeth either but I'd still like to keep them" Harry retorted

"What's on your finger?" Ron asked as he saw Ginny's hand

' _Wow'_ Ginny thought _'the one time he stops being an oblivious git he finds a way to draw attention to us_ '

' _Yeah, I would congratulate him from upgrading to a regular git but I'm a bit pissed off at the fact that he of all people had to notice. Still I guess we should've disillusioned them_ '

' _Not a chance, I'm married and proud of it Mr Potter_ '

' _Yes Mrs Potter_ '

"Well?" Ronald asked when the two didn't answer. Ginny and Harry both raised their hands to show matching rings.

"Did you two get engaged?!" Molly shrieked

"Engaged" Harry chuckled "Don't be ridiculous"

"Oh" Mrs Weasley calmed down

"We skipped that part entirely" Ginny smirked "we got married a little over a week ago"

"Eight days ago dear" Harry corrected her

"WHAT?!" Molly shrieked, fortunately the other champions and their families had already left by this point or their ears would've burst as well "how could the two of you get married without telling me?!"

"Simple really" Ginny held Harry's hand in her own "we did it and didn't tell you. We were planning to let you know as soon as I moved in"

"Moved in?!" Ron exploded

"Yes Ronald" Harry spoke calmly "that's when Ginny takes all of her stuff and brings it to my house then lives in my house"

"You've been in his house?!" Ronald shouted

"Not yet" Ginny replied "but me and Harry are planning to move in together at the end of the year, from what I understand Harry has his own quidditch pitch so I'm probably going to spend the summer flying around and relaxing. Have fun with chores Ron"

"HOW DARE YOU DO THIS?!" Molly roared with rage "HOW DARE YOU BREAK MY TRUST?!"

"Tell me mother" Ginny spoke in an unnervingly calm voice, from Bills experience Ginny always got emotional in arguments so seeing her absolutely calm did make him worry a bit for his mother "are you more upset about me breaking your trust or me breaking the marriage contract?" Molly instantly paled

"Contract?!" Bill blurted out

"Yes Bill" Ginny nodded "mum and Dumbledore made a contract which made me and Harry get married once we're of age and in the contract it says that the Weasley family get half of all of Harry's possessions and money while Dumbledore gets the over half."

"Is this true?!" Suddenly Bill was no longer worried as much about his mother

"Very" Harry replied on Mrs Weasleys behalf "I had managed to get a copy, funnily enough there was a clause there that allowed the contract to be cancelled, good on Dumbledore for keeping your options open in case someone richer or better came along"

"Now Harry" Molly spoke softly, hoping to regain control of the situation "it's not like that"

"You see Bill" Harry continued "me and Ginny were already in love with each other, we fell for each other when we first met in Diagon Alley"

"Diagon Alley?" Ron was more confused than usual "you met on the train!"

"That's what I let you believe, I'm not sure if you remember but let me try to help you. You insult Ginny one day, Ginny gets upset and runs off before becoming lost. Then she meets a boy who she spends some time with before reuniting with her 'lovely' family"

"Ron" Ginny smiled "meet Harold Smith"

"That blonde boy we ran into" Bill explained to the still confused Ron

"Oh"

"Now" Harry continued with the story "Harold who is me sends a letter to young Ginny, one of his house elves see the letter get delivered but then her dear old mother takes the letter and rips it before slapping her daughter" Molly was nearly white by this point

"So then the boy makes a vow, he decides to help the only person who had ever treated with kindness and sneaked into the house daily and helped make her life easier and other time the two confirmed that they definitely loved each other"

"Soon it's time for Hogwarts" Ginny now told the story "the two met on the train and pretended to just meet for the first time and they went about the school year as normal as they could. During the second year they become boyfriend and girlfriend and find out about a horrible contract designed to steal Harry's money. Fortunately they knew a way around that, get married before we become of age so the contract is not completed and therefore broken"

"Nice" Bill whispered, he knew all about contracts and that was a simple but effective way to break one.

"Thank you" Harry and Ginny replied at the exact same time

"But you can't get married at your age without parental consent!" Molly argued

"Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve for it" Harry quoted his wife who beamed at the fact "needless to say we found a way, a rather brilliant way I might add. Unbreakable so you can't do anything about it no matter how hard you try and doesn't need parental consent for it to work"

"What? How?" Bill asked, Ginny wasn't surprised that he was more curious than angry

"Sorry Bill" She replied "we want to tell you but we'd rather keep it secret for now"

"Okay" He smiled "but I expect to know as soon as possible"

"I bet you two aren't even married" Ron piped up

"And I'd bet you're an idiot" Harry responded "difference is I'd win money from my bet. Speaking of money, from now on the only Weasley that gets any of my money is Ginny."

"Harry!" Molly sounded horrified

"I've made my decision and I'm sticking with it" Harry replied "tell me my lovely wife, do you approve of my decision?"

"I love it" Ginny did her best not to laugh at her mother's face.

"As soon as school is finished you will come straight home young lady!" Molly ordered

"I don't think I will" Ginny placed her head against Harry's shoulder "you see thanks to our marriage, me and my husband are considered of age so technically I can do what I want. And I want to move in with Harry"

"Are you sure?" Bill asked

"Hell yeah" Ginny immediately replied "I love Harry and would live with him in the muggle world if it meant staying with him. Plus I've always wanted to see his house, he told me all about it. He's got a quidditch pitch, lots of animals and more than fifty house elves. I won't have to do another chore or clean anything for the rest of my life" Harry saw that Ron looked a bit jealous.

"If you're going then I insist that you invite me along as well" Molly demanded

"Let's think" Harry and Ginny appeared to be in thought for a while "nah" they both replied.

"Listen here"

"No you listen" Harry interrupted her with a cold and deadly voice "I feel sorry for Ginny, I never had to stomach you for as long as she did. But let me make two things clear, your constant shouting and your voice in general is annoying. The second thing is I do whatever it takes to make Ginny happy, if that means helping her get away from you then so be it. But I should warn you, interfere in Ginny's happiness means happiness plummets as well and that last time I was really unhappy I took Dumbledore to court and nearly cost him his reputation and all of his money.

Now, let me ask you a question, Mrs Weasley. What do you think will happen if I get unhappy with you? If you need me to put this in perspective I was relatively calm every time I put your son in the hospital wing" Molly was about to retort when the sheer power emanating from Harry shut her up.

' _Harry you're scaring everyone_ _'_

 _'_ _Sorry_ _' Harry lowered his power._

 _"Bill" Ginny spoke up "how about you walk with me and Harry and we show you how much Hogwarts has changed?"_

 _"An excellent idea" Bill smiled before the three of them walked out, leaving a stunned but furious Molly Weasley and her son who had a similar reaction._

 _"For what it's worth I support you two" Bill whispered as they walked around "you to love and care for each other and that's good enough"_

 _"Thanks Bill" Ginny hugged him_

 _"Yeah it means a lot" Harry added_

 _"No problem" Bill replied "just promise to take of each other and treat each other right. Out of curiosity who also knows? About your marriage?"_

 _"Remus and Sirius" Harry replied "a few teachers, all of my house elves and I'm guessing all of the Hogwarts house elves, the twins as well and a few choice friends. Although I imagine now everyone in the school is going to know it."_

 _"True" Ginny agreed "you'd figure people would have better things to do than gossip about us"_

 _"Well you two are quite interesting" Bill grinned. Harry and Ginny looked at each other._

 _"True" They eventually agreed._

Soon came the day of the third task, all three champions gathered by the maze. Victor and Fleur were nervous, not for themselves as they knew that they were throwing the match. But for Harry, they knew that he was very well planning to face Voldermort within a few minutes time. Ron was also nervous, it dawned on him that he'd probably come last just like in the other tasks.

Harry looked around, he saw Ginny and his friends cheering for him. He also saw Bill waving and Mrs Weasley scowling and glaring at him. So, naturally as a sensible person he decided to blow her a kiss and wink at her before tapping his wedding finger.

"I hope you're ready ladies and gentlemen" Bagman exclaimed from his microphone "first Mr Potter will enter as he has a ten minute lead thanks to the previous task. Prepare yourself Mr Potter"

And Harry did, he prepared to start running. He mentally prepared himself for possible scenarios. His eyes it with determination and focus so strong that the other competitors couldn't help feel impressed. Even Ron who now looked absolutely petrified.

"Begin!" A voice exclaimed


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Fights, resignations and contracts

Everyone was very surprised when Harry decided not to run into the maze but instead flew into the air, he hovered at a high just above the maze and slowly flew over to the center. He could hear Ron shouting some nonsense about cheating or something like that. Harry eventually landed and grabbed the tri-wizard cup, instantly he felt the familiar feeling of a portkey.

He was whisked off, the next thing he know, he was in an abandoned graveyard, the next thing he knew he saw someone walking towards him. The person was holding what looked like a baby in one hand and his wand in the other hand.

"Crucio!" The man roared as a light shot from his wand and hit Harry, the curse hit Harry in his shoulder and he stumbled back, tripping and falling down. The pain was excruciating, and Harry cursed himself for being caught off guard.

' _What happened to constant vigilance?_ ' Ginny's voice echoed in his head while he was being tied up.

' _I know_ ' Harry groaned ' _even I'm disappointed, I think the portkey threw me off. That combined with the guys wand speed_ '

' _Sure_ ' Ginny didn't seem to believe it, she knew he did it on purpose.

' _Let's talk later, I've got my head cleared up now, if things get too bad then I'll teleport to you. For now, be quiet and watch, the fun's about to start._ '

"Who are you?" Harry asked, before he saw the figures face "Wormtail?! Are you bloody kidding me?! You were supposed to be in Azkaban!"

"It seems that the ministry didn't broadcast my escape"

"Well this is the first time I don't blame them for not telling the truth" Harry replied "I would be embarrassed to high heavens if the entire ministry couldn't catch a pathetic rat like you. How did you escape anyway? Get on your knees and beg? Wouldn't be the first time."

"I see you still cracking jokes?" A raspy voice came from the baby

"I don't know what you are" Harry responded "all I know is you stink and I'd appreciate it if you could get far enough away for the smell to follow you."

"Insolent child!" It hissed "no matter, Wormtail, begin the ritual." It was then that Harry saw the massive cauldron in front of him, Wormtail delicately placed the baby thing down and started the ritual.

"Blood of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!" Wormtail started as he tossed a bone into the cauldron.

"Hey Wormtail" Harry called "do you get paid for babysitting that thing or is just a hobby?"

"F...Flesh of the sergeant willingly given, you will r...revive your master" Wormtail ignored him, he looked as if he was in pain, then when he chopped his hand off and dropped it in the cauldron, Harry was sure he was.

"You know Wormtail the Marauders would have done the same for you, they would've gladly gave their lives to help you, would your master do the same for your pathetic self? Personally my respect for him has plummeted if you're the kind of filth he has to rely on"

"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe" Wormtail stabbed Harry in the arm

"Okay" Harry spoke before the blood dropped into the vial "take my blood, I got some to spare. Not like it'll make much difference" Then the blood went into the vial, Peter was unsure about whether or not he should continue, but did so anyway and put the blood in the cauldron. Moments later smoke came from the cauldron and a voice was heard.

"Robe me Wormtail" Voldermort hissed, and Pettigrew did just that.

Voldermort looked at Harry, Harry looked right back. He had placed his mind shields up in case Voldermort decided to read his mind. He noticed Voldermort mentioning his father, but he was just going through one big monologue so Harry ignored him. He had Merlin's wand in his holster and Pettigrew had taken his other one, so as far as he was concerned he was still in a good position. Now all he had to worry about was making an impression on Voldermort and the death eaters he just summoned.

' _I'm sure you'll do fine_ ' Ginny insisted ' _if you need proper motivation then I promise to give you a private celebration between the two of us_ '

' _Promise?_ '

' _Promise_ '

' _Well there's my motivation'_

Harry watched with an amused expression as Voldermort gave Peter a new hand, then drew his attention to Harry.

"Hello" Harry spoke casually "how are we all doing today? Enjoying the party Voldy?"

"Silence" One of the death eaters demanded "who do you think you are, talking to our master like that?! "

"Listen up" Harry smirked "first of all I'd like to say hi Lucius, there was never any point in hiding behind a mask when we can identify you by your girlish hair. By the way Dobby says hi, you know Dobby? The house elf that ran away from your family to join me" Lucius looked positively embarrassed.

"As for the other guy's question I'd like to say the following. I'm Harry James Potter, I never really know what's going on and a lot of the time I don't even know what I'm doing…but, I am a sassy comeback generator and I will fight anyone."

"Is that so?" Voldermort moved closer

"That's right. I'll fight any enemy, I don't care if you're a muggle, pureblood, muggle born or even a half-blood" Harry looked straight at Voldermort "so Thomas…how is daddy doing?" Voldermorts red eyes lit up with rage.

"Crucio" He whispered as he aimed his wand at Harry, Harry was hit with the curse, he thrived in pain for a few seconds before stopping. Voldermort was confused, he never stopped the curse.

"Touched a nerve I think" Harry chuckled, Voldermort kept a calm face while the other death eaters stood in shock, wondering how this boy took the most painful curse alive from Voldermort himself and still managed to laugh. "Tut, tut Thomas. That was naughty…what would Riddle Senior say if he heard you'd been interrupting me while I was talking? You don't seem to have good manners, probably weren't muggle raised or pure blood raised. For those of you that don't know your masters name is actually Tom Riddle Junior and he is a half-blood"

"Silence!" Voldermort ordered, the death eaters actually stood back a little bit out of fear, Harry didn't seem to be fazed at all.

"Tommy" Harry sighed mockingly "such terrible manners, I guess they never taught you politeness at the muggle orphanage you grew up in"

"You're trying my patience Potter" Voldermort spoke in a cold and deadly voice

"Actually I'm trying to annoy you" Harry smirked "hey Tom, how about a duel?"

"A duel?"

"Yes, between you and me. I'd like to prove I'm better than you"

"You better than me" Voldermort responded with a chilling chuckle

"Yes I am" Harry confidently replied "if you don't believe me then allow me to prove it, unless you're scared of me winning. I'd understand, it'd be embarrassing losing to the same person three times in a row, especially when said person hasn't even had his owl exams yet"

"I could kill you" Voldermort smiled

"So could another human being" Harry replied "so could a lion, or a dog or even a very dedicated bird. You're not special."

"Very well" Voldermort took a few steps back "Wormtail give him his wand" Wormtail did as he was instructed and gave Harry his wand before freeing him.

"Thank you" Harry stood up "although I have to admit, it's disappointing that my biggest enemy is surrounded by so many hopeless idiots that this fat rat is the best he can find. Oh well, let's get this over with"

"I will enjoy silencing you" Voldermort smiled coldly

"You'd probably also enjoy beating me, but that's just another thing that's not going to happen today. You see there is a reason I am better than you"

"Oh, what reason?"

"I have a nose" Harry tapped his nose with his free hand, almost to prove it was there "and the fact that I beat you twice already, but mostly the nose thing. I hope you don't take offence, well actually I do, please take offence. "

"Enough talk, I trust you know how to duel?"

"Oh yeah" Harry nodded "I know how they work, we bow, then we start and then I obliterate you in front of your followers." The death eaters were quite puzzled by Harry, they were amazed that the boy could so confidently claim he was going to win when he was up against the dark lord himself.

"Just bow" Voldermort ordered, Voldermort ever so slightly bowed while Harry mockingly bowed to him but wisely kept his eyes on him the whole time.

"Crucio" Voldermort fired the first spell, Harry effortlessly dodged before flicking his wand at Voldermort. A small stone flew straight at Voldermorts head, Voldermort swatted it away but then realised that his face hurt, he realised he was bleeding. Blood dripped from his right cheek, did Potter manage to hit him with a cutting curse? Looking at his smug face, Voldermort assumed he did.

"Well Potter, I must admit, I'm impressed. You're faster than I thought, to hit me with a curse, you must be proud"

"Not really" Harry shrugged "you don't seem that impressive to me. I feel that you're power has been greatly exaggerated by your followers, my girlfriend could provide me with a better fight than you"

Voldermort fired another curse which Harry effortlessly swat away, Harry returned with his own curse which narrowly missed Voldermort when he dodged. Voldermort fired two more which Harry dodged, Harry then shot a cutting curse at Voldermort. Voldermort swatted it away.

"What is this?" Voldermort asked with an amused voice "you aimed that curse right at my throat, Harry, are you actually trying to kill me?"

"Of course I am" Harry answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world "what do you think I'm like Dumbledore? You think I'd just stun you and throw you in Azkaban? No, no, no! We both know you're far beyond redemption, we know all the people in this graveyard are beyond redemption. I have no problems with killing the lot of you"

"You? Kill us?!" One of the death eaters laughed, Voldermort was about to hit him with the torture curse for interrupting but was surprised when blood poured out of a hole in his throat. The death eater fell to the floor, life draining out of his eyes, Voldermort looked and saw Potter had his wand pointed at the dead body.

"Do you like that?" Harry asked, with pride in his voice "that's a spell I invented, it's called 'velox iecit', I made it based off of muggle guns. Works just the same as one, even has rapid fire modes and everything. Allow me to show you, 'multi velox iecit'."

All the death eaters ducked to the floor as multiple blasts shot out of Harrys wand quicker than they could count, two more of them died. Voldermort summoned up a brick wall to protect himself, he was surprised when Harrys bullets damaged the wall so much.

"So" Voldermort banished the wall "you have one or two tricks, don't think they will help you beat me boy"

"I think me being better than you is what will help me beat you"

Harry and Voldermort exchanged a few spells, each spell being blocked or batted away, Voldermort was getting increasingly frustrated. He couldn't comprehend how Potter was matching him, he was the dark lord and most feared wizard in the world yet he was being matched by a fourteen year old. He also noticed that he was getting tired quickly, that didn't make sense, he could easily duel twice as long without getting tried before and his spells had nowhere near the same amount of power he usually had. Unless…unless Wormtail messed up the ritual.

"Do you need a break Tom?" Harry called out "you're looking a little tired. Don't worry about losing against me, it wouldn't be the first time would it? Let's see, you've already lost to one year old me and eleven year old me so I don't see why fourteen year old me should be any different."

Voldermort wasn't going to rise to his taunts, image was everything and getting riled up by a teenager would ruin his. Voldermort fired a reducto curse at Harry, Harry summoned a wall in front of him and the wall burst down. Voldermort smiled triumphantly, he couldn't see anything through the smoke and dust but he assumed that the impact of the wall hit Potter.

He took a step closer, when a brick flew at him, he dodged it only to be hit in the chest by another brock. He stumbled back as various bricks flew at him. He dodged or got rid of most of them but one hit him in the stomach and winded him shortly before one hit him in his right knee. The next thing he saw was a curse flying at him, Voldermort recognised this curse, it was a dark one. He himself had used it a few times, if hit by the curse then then the victim's eyes would melt. Fortunately for him he managed to duck, although he was still surprised, to see Potter use a dark curse.

Potter slowly emerged from the smoke with a victorious smile on his face, he winked at Voldermort before throwing another curse. Voldermort rolled out of the way before firing a curse of his own, Harry ducked before aiming to just under Voldermorts feet.

"Reducto" He shouted and the ground beneath Voldermort exploded and threw him backwards, the three remaining death eaters were all terribly worried. Not only was Potter matching their master but he was also beating him without struggling. "Come on Voldy, you don't want your men to lose hope in their beloved half-blood now do you?" Voldermort staggered to his feet

"Imperio!" He shouted and the curse hit Harry "bow to me, bow to me and admit that I am the greater wizard Potter"

"Nope" Harry immediately responded "I see no reason to lie"

Voldermort was thoroughly surprised, not only did the cruciatus curse not work, neither did the imperious. Harry, however, didn't give him time to think. He aimed his wand at Voldermort and various bats shot out of it and straight towards Voldermort, a few quick wand movements and Harry had transformed their wings into steel wings with spikes, The bats all cut Voldermort in various places before disappearing. Voldermort staggered back, it took all of his will power not to fall down. He had cuts all over his body and his robes were torn.

"Come on Tom" Harry taunted "nothings working for you, how about we stop holding back, you know which curse you want to use. Use it! Come on! Two simple words and a green light, that's all it would take, go on. End it!"

"You think I'm a fool Potter?" Voldermort spat "I know what you're trying to do"

"You worked it out? Well done, ten points to Slytherin" Harry joked "now I wonder if you worked out what's wrong with you?"

"Wormtail ruined the ritual" Voldermort eyed the fearful and pathetic man

"Nope" Harry laughed "he did it perfectly, I ruined the ritual, something about blood being taken unwillingly from the enemy. I'm sure you can work it out"

"No matter" Voldermort fired a deadly cutting curse at Harry, if all went well it would cut Potters head clean off. Harry ducked under it before taking a step forward, he swung his arm and his own cutting curse connected with Voldermorts wand arm. Cutting off his hand, Voldermort yelled in pain, but Harry wasn't done. He aimed his wand at Voldermorts and with pinpoint accuracy he shot his next spell.

"Reducto" Harry watched with joy as Voldermorts wand exploded "now, this has been fun but I must go now, my girlfriend and I are planning a celebration to congratulate me for winning the tri-wizard championship. I'm the youngest champion ever you know, don't worry I plan to come back and kill you all at a later date. Now if you'll excuse me I'll be off, oh, but before I go I will gladly show you my bullet spell one more time."

Harry aimed his wand at Voldermort, a small red light shaped like a bullet shot out from Harry's wand and hit Voldermort in-between his eyes. The red eyed man collapsed onto the ground as the green eyed hero smiled and walked over to the cup, he grabbed it and zoomed away with it.

The four remaining death eaters, couldn't bring themselves to say anything, their dark lord had just been bested by a child. They looked at the figure of Voldermort, cut up and broken before them. Every single one of them wondered what they would do now, Lucius was already coming up with a plan for what to do if Potter accused him of being a death eater.

Their thoughts were interrupted, when they saw what they thought was the dead figure of Voldermort sitting up, he slowly rose to a standing position. He stood with ripped robes, a limped leg, cuts all over his body, a missing hand and a hole in-between his red blazing eyes.

"Leave" He ordered, and without hesitation they obeyed. Running off before their master could change his mind.

Words couldn't be described to explain how angry Voldermort was, he was always divided between hating Albus and Potter but now he realised that he definitely hated Potter more. He'd wait for another fifty years if needs be but he will personally kill Potter, yes, he would kill him and enjoy doing it.

Harry arrived in front of the maze, holding the cup in one hand and his wand in the other. Everyone looked at him, taking in the blood coming from his arm and the dust and dirt on his clothes. Each and every single eye was on him.

"I'm back bitches!" Harry raised the cup and the crowd erupted with cheers, Ginny rushed towards him and Harry put the cup down before catching her. She wrapped her hands around his neck and her legs around his waist before kissing him passionately. Ignoring the crowd and her mothers shouting.

"To be continued" Harry whispered when he saw the minister and Dumbledore walking over, Ginny reluctantly got down but placed one hand around Harrys waist. She likely wasn't going to let go until tomorrow morning at the earliest.

"Harry Potter" Fudge exclaimed "what happened?"

"Funny story really" Harry replied, everyone became quiet and listened to Harry "you see the cup was a portkey, took me to a graveyard and when I was there I was met with one Peter Pettigrew" Fudge paled at this and looked positively embarrassed

"It seems that he managed to escape from the ministry without anyone knowing, you may want to look into that. Anyway he ties me up and then steals some of my blood to use for a ritual, I think he planned to bring back Voldermort"

"But Voldermorts dead!" Fudge shouted

"That's why I said he planned to do it, doesn't matter either way, I escaped. But sadly Peter got away, although I don't think I can be blamed for that much as I'm just a fourteen year old boy and not an entire government but still" Fudge looked a little annoyed by that comment

"Oh yeah" Harry spoke as if he had suddenly realised something "stupefy" he aimed his wand at Moody and Moody fell unconscious.

"What are you doing?!" Fudge shouted

"That's not the real Moody" Harry explained "it's an imposter, Peter told me himself, apparently he was the one who entered me into the tournament and turned the cup into a port key."

"But why would Peter tell you this?" Fudge asked

"He thought I was going to die, everyone knows the villains have to monologue to the dying victim before they actually try and get the job done. Now if you don't mind could you please contain the imposter and give me my prize money, I'd like to have a nice bath and some sleep as soon as possible"

 _'_ _Among other things_ _'_ Harry telepathically spoke to Ginny

 _'_ _Perhaps I could join you in both_ _'_ She suggested as she slowly rubbed her hand on his back

 _'_ _You know what, screw the bath, as soon as we're alone I want my reward._ _'_

 _'_ _Yes sir_ _'_ Ginny replied seductively _'_ _I like it when you take charge_ _'_

"Ah…yes" Fudge spluttered, he took the money before turning to the crowd "ladies and gentlemen, may I present the youngest tri-wizard champion of all time, Mr Harry Potter!" Fudge handed Harry the money, he took it and ordered his elves to take the cup and Harry checked it for charms and spells before they took it back home, he then started walking off with Ginny.

"Now Harry" Dumbledore started but Harry was already walking away with his arm around Ginny's shoulder

"Well done" Fleur and Krum congratulated him, Harry nodded his thanks to them when he noticed Ron sulking behind them. He continued walking with Ginny until they were out of the stadium.

"GINNY WEASLEY!" A familiar voice shouted, the two turned to see Mrs Weasley bustling towards them with Bill slowly following them. He gave the two an apologetic smile which they returned "where do you think you're going?!"

"Well mother" Ginny answered with a smile "my husband did win the tournament, I was planning to give him a private celebration for doing so"

"I was planning on receiving a private celebration for doing so" Harry added

"Absolutely not!" She roared

"Mum it's nothing I haven't done before"

 _"_ What?!"

"Well mother that is how weddings work" Ginny responded "we got married then we spent the night together, it was without a doubt the…"

"Best night of our lives" Harry finished

"Too true sweetie" Ginny kissed him on the cheek

"I forbid you from doing that and you are going to come straight home young lady!"

"Wow" Ginny looked amused "you're really overestimating your authority mother, in case you forgot I am of age and don't have to listen to you. There is only one person who can make me do something that I don't want to do now, and his arm is around my shoulder. Not that he would but from now on Harry is the only person I listen too"

"Harry tell her to listen to me!" Molly ordered

"Ginny" Harry turned to his wife "do whatever makes you happy!"

"HARRY!"

"Thank you" Ginny ignored her mum "but if I have to do whatever makes me happy then I think we should find somewhere private." Ginny lead Harry away "Bye Bill" She shouted

"By firefly" Bill called "Harry, treat her right"

"That's the plan" Harry shouted

"GINNY! GINNY! COME BACK THIS INSTANT! YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME YOUNG LADY! GINERVA MOLLY WEASLEY GET BACK HERE!"

Mrs Weasley continued shouting as she ran after Harry and Ginny, the two saw her running however and Harry picked Ginny up in his arms and ran into the castle. Mrs Weasley couldn't keep up so she resorted to using her wand. She fired a spell but Ginny blocked the spell from hitting Harry and shot her own back which hit her mother's wand arm and nearly broke it.

Molly looked up after picking her wand up and saw that Harry and Ginny were nowhere to be seen. She screamed a variety of curses from her mouth while Bill was behind her with his hand clutched over his mouth trying not to laugh. He wasn't overjoyed at the fact that his sister was so young and married but if Ginny was happy then so was he, he knew Harry wouldn't treat her wrong and if he did then Ginny was probably the only one who could put him in his place. The fact that it annoyed her mother was just a great big bonus and after working with goblins he knew to always take a bonus if you could.

Molly eventually calmed down, remembering that swearing was un-lady like. She patted her clothes and adjusted her hair, she turned to see Bill with a neutral expression on his face. 'Such a good boy' she thought.

"Come on we'll talk with Dumbledore about this" She said as she walked past him. Bill followed, his lips forced themselves into a smile.

Harry and Ginny found themselves in the room of requirement, where a massive bed was waiting for them. The two immediately began kissing, Ginny planted a few kisses on Harry's neck while he removed his top layer of clothing. He placed his arms around her as soon as the kissing returned to the lips, she placed her arms on his neck and her legs around his waist. Harry felt like she was trying to shimmy her way up while Ginny was enjoying where Harry placed his hands to keep her up.

She rubbed her hands all around his back, as he carried her over to the bed. He delicately placed her down on it, her legs still wrapped around his body, they kept kissing and slowly began removing more and more clothing as they did.

Harry woke the next day, to find Ginny in the covers next to him. She smiled peacefully, he smiled back at her. Silence fell upon the two of them, neither willing to break it, they stared contently into each other's eyes, as if nothing else mattered.

 _'_ _Harry_ _'_ Ginny called

 _'_ _Yes sweetie_ _'_

 _'_ _I'm so proud of you_ _'_

 _'_ _Thanks, well I was a little bit tired but I put some effort into it and_ _'_

 _'_ _No, not that! Although that was brilliant, I mean fighting Voldermort, even with the botched ritual that is still a major accomplishment._ _'_

 _'_ _Well I had good motivation. Did you watch the whole thing?_ _'_

 _'_ _Yep_ _'_ Ginny smiled before talking out loud "I watched my strong, brave and funny husband destroy the worlds most feared wizard in a duel"

"Thanks Gin" Harry then noticed Ginny looked like she wanted to say anything "you can tell me anything you want"

"You killed three people today" She spoke, afraid of Harrys reaction "I'm not judging you or anything, as they were death eaters who have definitely done worst and I still love you just as much if not more but I was just wondering how you feel about it."

 _"_ Truthfully?" Harry though about it for a while "it felt weird, killing someone, at the time I second guessed myself for a second. I thought about how I just killed a person but I liked doing it, then I wondered if there was a difference between me and Voldermort if we could both kill so easily but then I looked at snake faces eyes and I realised that there is a difference between us.

He kills because he thinks that he's the one who can do anything he wants. I kill because I want to protect the people I love and they deserve it, Snape and maybe a few others would have changed sides and attempted to redeem themselves. But the others…fear is the only thing they understand...if I have to kill a few hundred evil beings with no chance of redemption to save the rest of the world then so be it. I don't need to worry about enjoying the feeling as you're here to stop me from turning into the next dark lord. Besides me and Snape are working on a way to tell the difference between those forced to join the death eaters and those who willingly joined."

Harry and Ginny spent most of the morning talking then they had a shower in the room before they put their clothes on and ate the food the elves had brought them. Harry was going to straighten himself up but then the two decided to have fun with the just shagged look. The two walked hand in hand back to the common room with goofy smiles along with messy clothes and hair. They entered the common room and all eyes fell on them.

"Alright, go on then" Harry smiled and the room exploded with cheers, Harry was swarmed with hugs and pats on the back. It took ten minutes for the crowd to die down.

"What happened Harry?" Neville asked

"Well my 'official' statement is Peter Pettigrew kidnapped me"

"Official?" The twins asked

"Story for another time" Ginny interrupted when they saw Hermione and Ron enter the room "today we're celebrating!"

"Dobby, Stink" Harry called and the elves appeared "me and the common room would like a party, could you two and the other elves get some food and drinks for everyone please? Butterbeer as well please"

"Yes Harry" The two elves popped away

"You can't do that" Hermione interrupted "you can't make them work for all of us and..."

"Hermione" Harry spoke slowly "I'm in a good mood, a very good mood today, change that at your own cost. Now decide if trying to force your views upon magical creatures that have chosen to do what I want is worth a silencing charm that will last until the end of summer"

"You wouldn't"

"Is that a challenge?" Harry tapped his wand, Hermione was tempted to take her wand out but she knew she wasn't as strong as Harry and she had seen how quick he could be.

"Hey" Ron spoke up "You…"

"Ron" Ginny interrupted "the same applies with me, except I'm not kind enough to let you off with a simple silencing charm. Understand?" Ron gulped but wisely backed down.

"Excuse me" McGonagall entered the common room and looked around until she found Harry and Ginny "the headmaster requests both of your attendance in his office"

"Okay Professor" They both spoke at the same time, McGonagall nodded and waited outside. Harry called his two elves back.

"Guys, work with the twins in setting up the party, we'll be back in a bit. Fred, George, I'm expecting a bloody brilliant party when I get back"

"Language" Hermione scolded

"Yes mother" Harry and Ginny responded with mock shame

"Don't worry Harry" The twin speak began

"Me and my handsome brother over here"

"Will work very hard"

"On setting up"

"A fabulous"

"Spectacular"

"Great"

"Lovely"

"Fun"

"And cool"

"Party" They both ended.

Harry and Ginny walked out and McGonagall escorted them to the headmaster's office. She led them inside where they found Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, Mrs Weasley standing on one side of it and growling under her breath when she saw their messed up hair and clothes they were still wearing yesterday while Bill was trying not to smile. On the other side they found Snape standing with a neutral expression on his face.

"Morning" Harry greeted them in a cheery manner

"Where were you two last night?" Dumbledore asked

"I'd describe it as heaven" Harry winked at Ginny and clicked his tongue which caused her to blush a little.

"Harry, where were you?" Dumbledore repeated

"In the school sir" Harry replied "you see I had just gone through a very traumatic experience and needed some time alone, Ginny accompanied me and eventually we lost track of time and fell asleep."

"Is that all you did?" Molly asked

"You wish it was" Ginny responded

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke before Mrs Weasley could start shouting "that is very inappropriate behaviour and as such must be punished"

"Really?" Harry raised an eye brow "what are you going to do? Put us in detention?"

"No"

"Sorry to interrupt sir but I can assure you that you need not bother with the threat of punishment"

"Oh" Dumbledore replied "pray tell, why that is?"

"Simple" Harry smiled "I go where Ginny goes and vice versa, you could put us both in detention. Or you could suspend or expel one of us, if you do then both of us go, personally I don't mind. If you do then we'll just go to another school. Fleurs school sounded really interesting, don't you agree Ginny?"

"Oh yes" Ginny crossed her arms "I wouldn't mind spending time in France"

Dumbledore realised that they were right, though he didn't know as much about Harry as he liked, he knew that he wasn't the sort to give empty threats. Dumbledore needed Harry where he could see him.

"Very well" He spoke "as long as you promise not to repeat this action"

"Oh I promise, we ARE going to repeat this action" Harry responded "and we're very much allowed to seeing as she is my wife"

"WIFE?!" Dumbledore roared, he was hoping Molly was wrong when she said the two were married but it was apparently true. He slowly regained his composure "now Harry, Ginny cannot be your wife"

"Oh I'm sure she can" Harry grinned

"And I can assure you I am" Ginny showed Dumbledore her ring

"Ginerva Molly Weasley!" Mrs Weasley shouted "don't you dare disrespect the headmaster!"

"Actually mother" Ginny smiled "I've made some changes and my full name is now actually Ginerva Potter, if you don't believe me then you can check my medical records and check with Gringotts and the ministry."

"And" Harry added "if you need proof of our marriage and emancipation I'd advise checking with the ministry and the Goblins, however don't expect much details. The goblins are big on privacy and for some unknown reason that no one can explain" Harry smiled smugly "the original record of our marriage is gone"

"Gone?" Bill asked

"Gone" Harry repeated "naturally I have a copy but the one in the ministry went missing, a shame isn't it? Luckily however you'd still be able get proof we're married but not much beyond that."

"Very well" Dumbledore sighed

"Very well?!" Molly shrieked

"Mrs Weasley we will resume this topic later" Dumbledore turned back to Harry "now Harry could you tell us about the events of last night?"

"Well sir I took Ginny to a private place, we kissed a lot and eventually we removed our clothes and…"

"Not those events!" Molly shouted

"Spoil sport" Harry mumbled before turning to Dumbledore "the cup was a portkey and it took me to a graveyard where Wormtail took my blood for a ritual to bring the unnameable idiot back to life"

"And?" Dumbledore prompted

"And what?" Harry played dumb

"Did he succeed?" Dumbledore asked

"Professor Snape" Harry turned to the potions master "did the mark burn?"

"Yes it did" Snape nodded whilst rubbing his arm

"I believe you have your answer Headmaster, oh and Professor Snape, the potion had finished cooling down this morning. Dobby, give the Professor his potion."

The house elf popped in and handed Snape a vial of pink liquid before popping away. Snape had rolled up his sleeves to reveal his dark mark, he gulped down the potion and soon the mark had disappeared.

"Thank you" Snape spoke with a grateful voice

"What have you done?!" Dumbledore shouted

"Removed my dark mark" Snape spoke simply "Mr Potter a hundred points for that particular potion"

"Thank you sir" Harry beamed

"But Severus" Dumbledore looked so disappointed "how are you supposed to spy now?"

"I'm not" Snape smiled "my days of spying for you are over."

"But you made an unbreakable vow!"

"No" Snape shook his head "I made a vow to promise to help rid the world of the dark lord and I intend to do it, just not your way. I quit the order of the phoenix and I no longer spy for you"

"Severus!" McGonagall pretended to be shocked, Harry was impressed by how convincing she looked

"Severus if you no longer help me than I will fire you!" Dumbledore screamed

"Thank you" Severus dropped a letter on his desk "but there is no need, here is my letter of resignation and I would like to inform you that I no longer work for you. I already have a new employer!"

"WHAT?! WHO?!"

"Him" Snape moved around and stood just behind Harry, the look on Dumbledore's face was priceless. He was so in shock that he didn't notice Stink popping in and taking a picture with a camera before popping out.

"But…But…you can't!" Dumbledore sputtered

"Mr Potter has hired me as his and Mrs Potters private tutor, and under the laws of the school and British government they are allowed to have a private tutor and not attend school classes regarding the subject providing they have their guardians permission. As they are fully emancipated they are their own guardians and are allowed to hire me."

"Read this professor" Harry said when one of his house elves popped in and gave him a note, Snape read it before burning it. The elf gave him a flower which everyone soon realised was a port key, Snape was teleported away. While Harry and Ginny stood there looking triumphantly.

"Fidelius charm" Ginny spoke "so don't bother asking where he went, now if that'll be all, me and my husband have a party to go to"

"Bye Dumbles" Harry waved cheerily as the two went away, as they exited the door they briefly heard Dumbledore's voice.

"TWENTY THOUSAND POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!"

"Thirty thousand points to Gryffindor" Harry whispered, and the points were added straight back to Gryffindor's tally. Harry and Ginny laughed all the way back to the common room when they met the rest of the house. The common room was covered with party decorations, the photo of a shirtless Harry was back on the wall and there was tons of food. Everyone, bar Ron and Hermione who were sulking in the corner, looked to be having fun. Harry noticed that Fleur and Victor Krum were also there along with Cedric, Daphne and her sister Astoria.

"Harry! Gin-Gin!" The twins exclaimed as they bound towards the two "what happened?"

"Oh Harry pissed of Dumbledore and mother for life and got Snape to no longer work at Hogwarts anymore" Ginny answered "Snape is now our private tutor, Mums probably redder than her hair, Bills probably trying not to laugh and Dumbledore is probably more angry with Harry than he has ever been with anyone ever."

"Well done young Marauder" Fred patted his back

"Yes, you did us and the name proud" George added

"Speaking of you two" Harry called for Stink who appeared with a heavy bag of gold, Harry shrunk it down to the size of a hand and handed it to the twins "that's my winnings from the tournament. I want you two to have it so you can open up that shop you wanted"

"But Harry" George spoke, Fred seemed unable to do anything "we can't this is too much"

"It's not and it's not charity" Harry responded "I'm doing it because you're my friends and my family, it also helps that you're my brothers in law"

"Just think of it as an investment" Ginny spoke when she saw the twins were about to argue "Harry's investing in your shop, make him a silent partner. You don't have to send us money but do it if it makes you feel better"

"But you really don't need to send us money" Harry replied "trust me this wouldn't even make a dent in my money, and as Ginny said think of it as a investment. If you two become successful then you annoy Ron , you can move away from your mother and prove her wrong while simultaneously making her furious, and if your pranks end up in the school and cause Dumbledore some problems then so be it. Money well spent I think." The twins looked at each other, Harry began wondering once again if the two had their own form of telepathic communication.

"Very well" Fred nodded "you drive a hard bargain"

"That he does Fred, but we accept the money"

"However we will"

"Make you a partner and"

"You will get twenty-five per cent of our earnings"

"We're not budging on that"

"Fine" Harry agreed and the four all shook hands "I'd advise hiding that before your brother finds out and rats you to your mother and I'd advise not letting her know until you're a safe distance away so she can't steal your money."

"Good point" The twins nodded and took the money upstairs

"What was that about?" Ron asked when he and Hermione came over

"Oh, nothing important" Harry smiled "now can I help you two?"

"Yeah actually" Ron turned red "where were you and my sister yesterday?! Nobody saw either of you after the tournament! Where did you go?!"

"Well Ronald" Ginny smiled and placed her hand in Harry's "me and my husband spent the night together"

"HUSBAND?!" Hermione screamed in shock, all eyes turned to them

"Hey listen up everybody" Harry addressed the common room as he let go of Ginny's hand and stood up on a chair "we're celebrating today because of three reasons. The first being the school year has nearly ended" Cheers filled the room "the second being I won the tri-wizard tournament and the third being this lovely woman." Ginny stood up on the chair with him and waved at the crowd

"I'd like to introduce Ginny Potter!" The room erupted with cheers, Harry was pretty sure that they could be heard all the way in Azkaban. The two stepped down where all the men congratulated Harry and the girls did the same with Ginny, Harry saw Ginny showing off her ring to the girls.

"But…But you can't be married" Hermione interrupted "you're not of age"

"Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve" Ginny replied

"How did you do it?" Hermione desperately wanted to know

"Simple, he asked and I accepted. Sorry but that's all we're willing to tell you, have fun not knowing"

"Ginny" Astoria spoke "does that mean that you're moving in with Harry?"

"No she isn't it!" Ron interrupted

"Yes I am" Ginny ignored Ron "I'm going to move in a day or two after school finishes, maybe a week at the most but I will be moving in."

"No you won't" Ron shouted

"Why not?" Ginny replied confidently "the marriage made me of age and I am Harrys wife so technically I see no reason why I can't move in. Sorry Ron, but looks like you have to do all those chores on your own"

"What do you mean?" Fleur asked

"Well mum makes us all do chores" Ginny explained "but since Bill, Charlie and Percy have moved out and I am going to as well then that just leaves Ron and the twins. The twins were already making up for Bill and Charlie being gone and I was making up for Percy being gone. But now Ron will have to make up for me and Percy."

"This is so not fair!" Ron shouted

"I guess you're glad to be out of the house" Daphne spoke to Ginny

"Shut it snake" Ron demanded "what are you doing in our common room anyway?" The room fell silent

"I'm a relative from the grooms side" Daphne coolly responded

"And a friend of the brides" Ginny added and nudged Daphne's arm

"Plus I asked permission from your head of house and the rest of the common room to be here."

"How could you all let a snake in here?!" Ron looked around the room

"Seeing as we've let actual snakes in here, I don't think they're a problem" Neville joked

"So if Harry brought in a vampire you'd let him?"

"Yes" The entire common room responded

"What if he brought in a dementor?"

"Why would I do that?" Harry asked "although if I theoretically did let a dementor in then I'd ask everyone if I could first then I'd keep it under control with a patronus charm and I'd provide everyone with chocolate after"

"You can do a patronus charm?" Hermione asked

"Yeah, I tried it in my third year then I taught Ginny, watch" Harry raised his wand and soon a bright white light blinded everyone temporarily as a white Phoenix flew from his wand, Ginny did the same and another Phoenix was in the room. The two flew around for a bit before disappearing.

 _'_ _Hey Gin_ _'_ Harry spoke telepathically while everyone was distracted by the Phoenixes _'_ _at the end of the year tell everyone you're going to stay in Diagon Alley until I come and pick you up, but I want you to actually go and stay with Percy for a day or two, okay?_ _'_ Ginny nodded at Harry who winked at her.

Soon it was time to leave, Harry and Ginny found themselves alone in a train compartment, after briefly saying hello to Luna Lovegood and the twins the pair found themselves alone. They decided to quickly finish all their homework now and then have some snogging done before they arrive. While doing their homework the two were laughing at Dumbledore's reaction to Gryffindor still winning the house cup despite all the points he took away, he looked like he was about to throw the table and hex Harry. Once the homework was completed and put away, Ginny got up and sat in Harrys lap, their lips were about to touch when they heard an annoying voice.

"Get off my sister!" Ron yelled

"In case you haven't noticed, she's on me" Harry replied "now do you have something important to say or are you just here to annoy us again?"

"Ginny, you're coming with me right now and you're going to stay with me until we arrive at the train station and mum takes us home"

"You can't tell me what to do!"

"Yes I can!"

"No you can't Harry interrupted "Ginny is my wife, and I am the heir to the most ancient and noble house of Potter, so in simple terms, touch Ginny and I ruin you. You'd best hope I do it legally as well"

"I'll get you one day Potter" Ron growled "one day"

"I doubt anyone born in this century will live long enough to see that day" Harry replied, Ron scowled at him before marching off.

"Hello Potter" Draco walked in, confidently "sorry to inform you but your reign is at an end, the dark lord is back and he'll end you and your poor little girlfriend"

"Wife actually" Harry smiled "that makes her richer and of a higher standing than you, as for Voldermort I can assume your father told you he's back" Draco flinched at the name but then paled at the mention of his father.

"Before you say anything Draco" Harry continued "I found myself in that graveyard with Voldermort and seven death eaters if we include Pettigrew. I walked out of that graveyard but there were three less death eaters when I did. If you don't believe me then ask your father"

Malfoy sneered then walked off, Hermione then walked by.

"Have either of you seen Ron?" She asked.

"Went that way" Harry pointed "goodbye"

"Harry I was wondering if you could tell me what happened in the graveyard, nobody knows much and a lot of people think you-know-who is back"

"I could tell you what happened in that graveyard" Hermione waited, but Harry didn't seem to want to say anymore.

"Well?"

"I said 'could' didn't say I would, now off you go, me and the wife want to spend some time together before we arrive."

"You're a jerk" Hermione spat and walked away

"High praise Herm" Harry called back before closing, locking and putting the necessary spells on the door. Once they arrived at the station Harry and Ginny shrunk trunks and put them in their pockets. As soon as they got out they were met with Mrs Weasley and Arthur, the twins and Ron followed shortly behind them. Ron stood by his mother with a smug face.

"You are coming with me" Molly ordered, but as she was about to grab Ginny Harry stood in front of her "move Harry"

"Nope, hi Mr Weasley" Arthur smiled at him quickly "now my wife is not coming with you, I'm going to drop her off in Diagon alley for a day or two then she's returning with me to my house"

"No she is not!" Molly shouted "she is coming with me right now! Ginny I am so disappointed in you! This is no way for a young lady to behave"

"Maybe I don't want to behave like a young lady" Ginny replied "did you ever ask what I want? No, you just made me do what you want. I'm sorry mother but cooking and cleaning and not having a job while producing as many kids as possible is not how I want to live my life. I am going to do what I want and I'm going to do it with Harry at my side and have fun doing it"

"Ginny!" Ron shouted "listen to mum" The twins were about to say something when they saw Harry pass Ginny a note, she passed it to them and they quickly looked at it. 'We'll tell you about the following prank later' the note read.

"Okay why don't we compromise?" Harry spoke up

"Compromise?" Molly asked

"Yes" Harry smiled mischievously "me and Ginny will go to your house to get all of her stuff, if you can beat us there before all of Ginny's stuff had been removed then Ginny will stay but if we win then the two of you can't ever try and force her to come back"

"Yeah go on then" Ron replied, not knowing that Ginny had her wand out "You'll lose"

"He accepted" Harry smiled "Ready, set, go!" Harry grabbed Ginny's arm and the two flamed away.

Mrs Weasley rushed out of the station with Ron following her, leaving the twins and Arthur behind, she grabbed his hand once they were out and the she apparated the both of them back to the outside of the burrow. They ran up to Ginny's room, when they entered they found all of her stuff had been removed and Harry and Ginny stood there looking very smug.

"Did I forget to mention?" Harry feigned forgetfulness "I already ordered my elves to remove all of her stuff once you left the house."

"Harry" Ginny struggled to keep a straight face "I accidentally had my wand out so when you and Ron made that challenge and I think I accidentally made a magical contract" Molly and Ron stood there in shock

"Ginny" Harry pretended to be angry "that was a stupid thing to do, once we move into my home I just may have to 'punish' you"

"Well I have been a naughty girl" Ginny licked her lips, before throwing something at her mother's feet. Upon looking at it Molly realised it was Ginny's handle on the clock and it was twisted and broken.

"Well as you two can see" Harry turned to the two Weasleys "you can try and convince Ginny not to come but I doubt she will and a contract has been made saying you can't force her to stay. With that being said me and Ginny are going now, I need to drop her off and set up the house so we can spend a lot of quality time together."

"Don't worry about the house" Ginny smiled seductively "just get the bedroom ready"

"I'd better get to work" Harry grabbed her arm and the two laughed before flaming out.

"You" Molly tuned on her son with a cold voice "made a magical contract….making it…so that I….can't bring my daughter back?!"

Ron screamed as he ran downstairs, chased by his angry mother who had pulled out her wand, unfortunately for him the twins and his dad were still hours away so it wasn't likely that he was going to get help. Unless his dad apperated over, but unfortunately for him the twins reminded Arthur that they couldn't leave their car at the station, the even more unfortunate news was the fact that Arthur agreed.

As Ron was hung upside down and screaming loud enough for all of Europe to hear, he silently cursed his sister and he cursed Harry Potter.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26 –

"Wow" James sighed

"Wow" Lilly repeated the action

"I can't believe it" Sirius was speechless

"Neither can I" Remus slumped back with widened eyes, the four sat in silence for a while.

"MY SON GOT LUCKY!" James exclaimed

"MY godson did us proud!" Sirius wiped away a tear "I'm glad that that part gets skipped and we don't actually see it but he got lucky!"

"I know" James laughed "that thing with the magical contract was just brilliant!"

"Guys!" Lilly shouted

"What?" James replied

"Prongs" Remus spoke softly "I think she's a bit annoyed by the fact that you're son got married and fought Voldermort but all you want to talk about is pranks and him having sex"

"Oh" James and Sirius said together

"MY SON BEAT VOLDERMORT!" James exclaimed

"Woo" Sirius joined in "and he got married!"

"That's better" Lilly sighed "but I still find it hard to believe, Harry is married and can now do whatever he wants."

"I know" Remus agreed "it's weird"

"You're just saying that because he tried to set you up with my cousin" Sirius interrupted

"No I'm not" Remus continued "even though that definitely wouldn't work, I'm too old and poor for her. But actually think about it, Harry is now considered of age and has actually got permission to do whatever he wants"

"I get it" James spoke "it is a bit weird, but I trust Harry. I'm sure he won't abuse it…though I am a bit disappointed that he doesn't abuse it a little"

"Lilly" Remus spoke carefully "if you don't mind me asking, Harry has killed three people, what are your thoughts on that?"

"Well" Lilly stopped to take a breath "it was a bit of a surprise, especially when he said he liked it. It's weird knowing that your son can kill and likes killing and every part of me wants to stop him from killing. But I have no doubt that those people deserve it, and I think he needs to do it.

Dumbledore has been ineffective and Harry will get attacked again, he shouldn't have been in that tournament and he shouldn't have been in that bloody graveyard! If he has to scare and put down a few people to keep himself and everyone else safe then I say let him, I'd rather he not but I understand. Voldermort got his fear and reputation from being the most powerful no-nonsense wizard alive, I don't mind if Harry does the same because it's effective and it works. I also don't have to worry about him going dark, like he said that's what Ginny's for and I doubt he'd let her go anytime soon"

"Lil" James whispered although everyone could hear him "our son, Harry, beat Voldermort in an actual duel. I don't know what to say to that"

"Me neither" Lilly admitted "he looked so calm, and he still beat him like he was nothing. I know the ritual made him weaker and all but still, Harry did good." The Marauders continued watching.

Harry woke up, besides him was his sleeping wife. She had spent the day with Percy while he worked as hard as possible to upgrade the wards. When he picked her up he explained to Percy how they were pretending Voldermort hadn't returned, he understood and promised to do the same. Harry then brought Ginny to the house, the joy on her face was enough for Harry to sleep pleasantly that night, or at least after they had finished what they deemed a necessary celebration ritual.

Ginny slowly woke, to find a pair of emerald eyes staring at her, words couldn't describe how happy she was. She and Harry were married, he won the tournament, he beat voldermort, Percy agreed to help and he brought her to his house. The elves assured her that she was the first person he had ever brought to the house, Ginny was pleasantly surprised by the house. She knew what was in it because Harry had told her but she didn't expect it be so good. She had spent the entire first day with the animals and planned to spend the next on the quidditch pitch.

Ginny thought that making Stink the secret keeper was also a stroke of genius, people underestimated house elves and no one would think to question an elf. She was also happy about the fact that she was free from her mother's grasp, she could be whoever she wanted to be and do whatever she wanted to do without asking permission. Naturally she'd ask Harry but she knew he wouldn't refuse, Harrys trust warmed her heart and she vowed never to break it.

"Morning beautiful" Harry smiled

"Morning handsome" Ginny smiled back

"So…how was your first day living with your husband?"

"One of the best days of my life" Ginny answered honestly "but to be fair it was also one of the best evening of my life, and don't think I didn't notice you leaving in the afternoon and coming back three hours later"

"Come downstairs and I'll tell you what that was about" Harry kissed her nose before sliding out of bed. Ginny came down after a few minutes, she found Harry eating breakfast and sat by him as they elves delivered her breakfast.

"Here you go" Harry handed her a newspaper

' **Vigilante known as curse attacks known death eaters house** ' Ginny read the title.

"I figured I do at least one appearance a week to keep the fear rates up" Harry explained

"Bloody hell, Rita Skeeter"

"I know" Harry sighed "although admittedly she's good at what she does, be even better if she didn't make up crap. But as long as she doesn't do it to us then I don't really care, I still have those articles she wrote about Ron, I was thinking of having them framed."

"The twins already did that" Ginny giggled "I mean it was so funny, making Ron out to be an attention seeking mad man who wanted to impress his mother"

"Which he is"

"And saying Hermione is his girlfriend"

"Which he wishes"

"So what are we going to do when school starts?"

"I'll think of something" Harry shrugged "the question is what are we going to do the pass the time around here?" Harry raised an eye brow

"Quidditch" She answered

"Oh…okay"

"But sex first" She smiled, he was so easy to tease. Harry shot up out of his seat and picked Ginny up before carrying her back to the bedroom. The weeks flew by as Harry and Ginny had fun, they occasionally visited Sirius and Remus and had secret visits with the twins but they spent the rest of the time together. Practising quidditch, duelling, spells, occlumency, animagus transformations, physical training and practising what they had dubbed the 'marriage arts'.

Soon came the day when they had to go to Diagon Alley to collect their school books, they could have sent the elves but they figured it'd be nice to go for a walk. Once they got there, Harry found a newspaper article saying that Dumbledore was sprouting lies about Voldermort returning. Ginny laughed as they read the article, they decided to prepare back up plans in case the minister went after them as well and returned home.

The elves had started enjoying Ginny's company; they found her just as nice as the master even though she wasn't as strong. She also had gotten on well with the magical and non-magical creatures and she was very helpful and they even let her name the new born elf. Always offering to help the elves just like their master, they would gladly call her mistress and Harry master, they'd willingly work to death if it meant making the two happy. The fact that there was one more person meant the elves also had more work to do, a fact that they enjoyed very much. And they made the most of it until their master and mistress had to return to school.

"Hey Gin" Harry said one morning "do you know Sirius sent me a letter about your family?"

"No, what did he say?"

"Apparently Dumbledore asked if he could use his house as the order of the phoenix's new hideout, Sirius agreed so he could have them somewhere where he could keep an eye on them"

"That's…pretty smart actually"

"Yep" Harry agreed "your family are moving in there today with Hermione to stay out of danger for when Voldermort makes his move."

"Huh" Ginny thought about it for a while "how about we pay them a visit?" She grinned

"That's my girl" Harry proclaimed proudly

In 12 Grimmauld place, the twins just entered the house followed by Mrs Weasley, Ron and Hermione.

"Go in the kitchen" Mrs Weasley ordered, the twins did so with everyone following behind.

"Looks like we won't be lonely this summer" George said

"What do you mean?" Ron asked once everyone had entered the kitchen. In the kitchen they saw Sirius and Ginny sitting across each other at the end of a table and eating and talking while Harry was cooking.

"What are you doing here?!" Ron shouted

"Visiting my godfather" Harry replied "with my wife. And I'm making lunch."

"You can cook?" Hermione asked

"Yeah" Harry smiled "I don't make my house elves do everything you know"

"Honestly I would've married him for his cooking alone" Ginny sighed happily as she took another bite.

"Your mother would be proud" Sirius also took a bite "she always wished she could have a son who could cook. James would've loved it too, though I suspect that's just because he wouldn't have to cook with you and your mother there"

"Thanks Sirius" Harry chuckled as he took a plate of food and placed it at the head of the table in-between Sirius and Ginny. He sat down and began eating.

"What about us?" Ron yelled

"Kreatcher" Harry called

"Yes master Harry" Kreatcher popped in "how may Kreatcher assist you?"

"Do we have much food left?"

"I apologise master but we do not"

"Never mind" Harry waved his hand "I'd like you to instruct Dobby and Stink to go and buy a months' worth of food"

"Yes master" Kreatcher bowed "Kreatcher lives to serve master Sirius, master Harry and his mistress Ginny" Kreatcher popped away

"Mistress?" Hermione asked

"Well that's how house elves address their female masters" Ginny smiled "Sirius told Kreatcher that Harry is his second master and as Harry's wife I am also considered a master."

"Anyway, if you all want food then you'll have to wait for a while" Harry tried not to notice Ron growl. "by the way me and Ginny will be popping in and out of here from time to time"

"What do you mean?" Mrs Weasley asked

"Well we don't live here mum" Ginny replied "we just come to visit Sirius"

"Where do you live?" Molly asked

"Not saying" Ginny shook her head

"Now listen here" Molly shouted "I am your mother and…"

"No" Sirius interrupted

"What did you say?" Molly scowled

"What I was saying…Mrs Weasley" Sirius replied sternly "is that you may be her mother but this girl is my godsons wife. And I value my godson above all else, so if you make her unhappy then you make my godson unhappy and that results in me being unhappy. I'd like to remind you whose house you are in"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that in this house I am the ultimate authority" Sirius responded "as long as they are in this house nobody will trouble Harry or Ginny, if they do then they are welcome to find a new place of residence"

"You would kick us out?!" Mrs Weasley couldn't comprehend what was happening "Sirius, Dumbledore…"

"Dumbledore is only using this house because I allowed it" Sirius cut her off "if I change my mind then there is not much he can do about it, so I'd advise holding your tongue unless you'd like to explain to Dumbledore why he can no longer use this house for the order."

Molly was left speechless, she had never been treated like a child since she was seventeen but now a man years younger than her had told her off like she was still just a little school girl. The twins couldn't believe it, their mother just got silenced by one of the marauders, that combined with Harry and Ginny's marriage had brought her to near bursting point, they suspected that their joke shop just may be the cherry on top.

Ron was also left speechless, his mother, the boss of their house had just been told off by Harrys godfather like a common girl. He could see Potters smug face, looking pleased because he could basically do what he wanted in the house. Hermione understood what Sirius was doing, it was his job to please Harry and Ginny, but she still thought that he should've gone about it better. And personally she thought that this was between Ginny and her mother so he shouldn't really have gotten involved.

"If you don't mind then I'm going to go upstairs and visit the library" Hermione broke the silence, Ron rolled his eyes

"Actually" Sirius spoke before Hermione could move "some of the stuff in the library is not appropriate for you"

"Appropriate?" Hermione raised an eye brow

"Yes my family were really big into the dark arts" Sirius explained "I haven't looked over the books yet so I haven't got rid of any of the more dangerous things"

"Dark arts?!" Molly shrieked "I can't have my children in a house full of dark arts books! This house is dangerous, wait there, I will go and remove them! Then I'm going all around this house and getting rid of everything dangerous"

"No you won't" Harry spoke in a commanding voice

"What?! Why not?!"

"Simply because nothing in this house belongs to you" Harry replied "it belongs to Sirus"

"And by extension Harry and Ginny" Sirius added

"What that means" Harry continued "is that those books are our property, you'll be staying for a while but that doesn't give you the right to throw away our stuff and decide what this house should be like. The kitchen has been checked as have your rooms, everything else is off limits. Kreatcher"

"Yes master" Kreatcher popped in

"Take me upstairs, you will show me which rooms our 'guests' are staying in."

"What? Why?" Ron asked

"Because I'm locking the other rooms " Harry spoke calmly

"Harry!" Molly shouted

"Ahem" Sirus coughed, Molly lowered her head a little

"Like I said" Harry smirked "this is our house, you're guests in it and you will obey our rules. Come on Kreatcher" The old house elf led Harry upstairs.

"So Sirius" Ginny continued her talk with Sirius "was Harrys first word was really 'Mooney'?"

"Oh yes" Sirius nodded "he still lords it over me to this day, there I was while Harry was in his cot. I had just brought him a toy broom and tried to get him to say Padfoot, but all he would say is Mooney. To make matters worse Remus was there looking as smug as possible and kept whispering 'I told you I was his favourite'. Though I wasn't the only one who annoyed, Lilly and James were actually having a bet to see if Harry would say 'dada' or 'mama' first.

So they were a bit upset when Harry learnt Mooney before either of those, but he did manage to say mama after that, then it was a competition between me and James over whose name he'd say next. I won of course, he did manage dad after that."

"That's adorable" Ginny pictured a baby Harry laughing in his crib

"Oh yeah" Sirius agreed "Harry was always smart, funnily enough he always cried when Peter came near him"

"What really?" Ginny's jaw dropped

"Yeah, but at the time we just thought he didn't like the smell"

"Hey guys" Harry retuned with Kreatcher "Kreatcher will show you to your rooms"

"Hello" Kreatcher was greeted by the twins

"Hello twins, friends of Harry" Kreatcher bowed

"Hello" Hermione spoke, Kreatcher eyed her and the other two Weasleys. He turned around and led them all upstairs

"Bloody irritating idiots" Kreatcher mumbled under his breath "disturbing and annoying my masters and mistress"

Soon it was the evening, Arthur had arrived and was talking with Sirus on one side of the table, they were discussing the ministry as Sirius had re-joined as an auror. Mrs Weasley was put out as Kreatcher had banned her from the cooking yet he allowed Harry to help. Once lunch had finished being made Harry and Kreatcher laid the food on the table and the two of them sat down.

Hermione was rather interested with how everyone had been seated, on one end of the table was Sirius with Mr Weasley on his right and Mrs Weasley opposite him. She was opposite Ron and sat next to George while Fred sat next to Ron, the four of them were in the middle of the table. But on the other end of the table, Harry sat opposite to Sirius with Ginny on his right and Kreatcher the house elf on his left. She found this interesting because from what she knew Mr Weasley was supposed to be sitting opposite Sirius as they were both head of their respective house.

"Mr Weasley" Hermione spoke "shouldn't you be sitting opposite Mr Black instead of Harry? I mean you're both head of your houses?"

"Not really" Mr Weasley shrugged

"Why not?"

"It's simple" Sirius replied "I'm head of the black family and this is my house so I get the head seat. Usually Mr Weasley would sit opposite me but Harry is head of the Potter family which is, no offence, Arthur a more powerful and noble house"

"None taken" Arthur smiled

"Plus he's my godson" Sirius continued "and I've named him heir to the Black family. So from society's point of view Harry is more important than Arthur"

"it's true" Arthur nodded "I have no trouble admitting that"

"Okay" Harry and Ginny had just finished eating "we're done"

"Okay pup" Sirius smiled "excellent cooking as usual"

"Thanks" Harry smiled "me and Ginny will be off now"

"Nonsense" Sirius put his drink down "stay for the night"

"Sirius" Harry was about to refuse

"I insist" Sirius replied "Kreatcher has kept that room you like in perfect condition in case you ever stay the night, you can leave tomorrow morning" Harry and Ginny looked at each other, they looked like the twins when they were communicating without words. After a few brief seconds Harry yielded.

"Okay, we'll stay the night"

"Lovely" Sirius exclaimed

"Yeah lovely" Ron grumbled under his breath, unfortunately for him Sirius heard

"Something you'd like to say Ronald?" Sirius narrowed his eyes

"No…No sir!" Ron quickly shook his head and looked down

"Thought not" Sirius then relaxed a little and looked at Harry "eat some more kiddo, you made it after all, might as well enjoy it."

"Hey" Hermione looked around "where is Percy?" Mrs Weasley and Ron growled, Percy had refused to help them support Dumbledore. The twins, Sirius and Harry and Ginny knew it was because they told him not to do it, but the others didn't. Arthur didn't know but he at least understood why Percy was doing it, as far as Ron was concerned however Percy was a complete and utter traitor.

"The git refused to come" He spat out "said he rather support the ministry then Dumbledore"

"Why?" Hermione asked

"Because he's an idiot" Ron stabbed his food "he says the ministry has got everyone's best interest in mind and he doesn't believe that you-know-who is back."

"Why not? Dumbledore himself said he was"

"I know but he says there's no proof, and he said that because Harry never said he was back he has no reason to believe Dumbledore"

"Harry" Hermione turned to him "why don't you tell people what happened?"

"Why don't you?" Harry replied

"I wasn't there!"

"Not my fault" Harry shrugged, taking delight in the now twitching eye of Hermione

"Harry" Hermione had managed to stop twitching "why won't you tell everyone what you saw?"

"Because I don't want to tell people what I saw" Harry replied "but I know someone who does"

"Who?" Hermione asked

"Him" Harry pointed at her food, Hermione looked down to find a snake on the table next to her food. Molly and Ron shrieked as they jumped out of their chairs, Hermione also jumped back. The snake slid up the table to Harry and climbed onto his shoulders. "I forgot that I left him here on my last visit. You remember Emerald?"

"Harry, get rid of that snake" Molly barked

"Nah" Harry stoked Emeralds head, Emerald slithered down and then wrapped himself around Ginny's arm.

"Ginny" Mrs Weasley looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel "get rid of the snake, they're dark creatures."

"No they're not" Ginny smiled "at least not all of them, this is Emerald, he's Harrys pet"

"I've had him since I was eight" Harry smiled, he looked at Emerald. Mrs Weasley was about to say something but then she became silent when she saw Harry hissing at the snake. He looked to be having a conversation with it. "Sirius, Emerald says he found a rat but he ate it for you"

"Thank him for me" Sirius smiled, taking joy in Arthurs curiosity and Mrs Wesley's discomfort. Harry relayed the message, Emerald actually bowed his head to Sirius.

"You…you're…a…parslemouth?" Mrs Weasley just about got out

"Yes, I would've thought that Ron would've told you"

"He did" Mr Weasley spoke up "we just didn't believe him, how long have you known you were a parslemouth Harry?"

"Since I was eight" Harry answered

"You're a parslemouth?!" Mrs Weasley screamed

"Wow you're slow" Harry sighed "yes I am, I am a parslemouth and I like snakes."

"But only dark wizards can be parslemouths!"

"Nope, well, Voldermort was one" Mrs Weasley shivered "but so was Salazar Slytherin, admittedly he didn't like muggles but there was no proof that he killed them, so there is at least one none evil parslemouth, two if you count me"

"But…but" Mrs Weasley seemed to try and think of an argument

"Mrs Weasley" Sirius spoke in serious voice "I hope you're not about to accuse my godson of being dark, right after I had invited you into my home"

No…I…no I wasn't" She bowed her head

"Good" Harry stood up and grabbed Ginny's hand when she stood up "me and the wife are going to sleep now"

"Together?" Mrs Weasley raised her head back up

"That is typically how husband and wife sleep, mother" Ginny responded

"Absolutely not!"

"Mrs Weasley!" Harry raised his voice "can I remind you that you're a guest in this house and should refrain from raising your voice. Kreatcher, if she shouts at me, Ginny or Sirius then throw her out immediately"

"Yes master" Kreatcher nodded

"You wouldn't" Molly stared with wide eyes

"Well it seems that talking politely doesn't shut you up so I figured it'd be best to go for a stronger approach" Harry replied. Molly, Ron and Hermione all had their jaws dropped while the twins, Arthur and Sirius were trying not to giggle or laugh. Ginny wanted to laugh at her mother's expression bur decided to let Harry finish first.

"Now you may be Ginny's mother" Harry continued "but that does not make you in charge. This is not your house, legally me and Ginny are considered of age and the only person who can tell me what to do is Ginny"

"And the only person who can tell me what to do is Harry" Ginny spoke next "he is my husband and if we want to share a bed then we bloody well can"

"Language" Hermione scolded

"SHUT UP HERMIONE!" The couple shouted at her and she shrunk back into her seat.

"In simple terms" Harry took a breath "you don't tell us what to do, raise your voice at us again and you will be thrown out. Consider it a good learning experience for you, you shout too much, even Ron agrees"

"What?" Ron shouted, he had never said that. But before he could object Harry continued talking.

"Besides, all this shouting, it isn't….hmm, what isn't it Ginny?" Ginny placed a finger on her chin, to look like she was trying to think.

"I know" She smiled "it isn't…'lady-like'" Molly looked furious "now if you'll excuse me, me and my husband are going to sleep. Kreatcher if anyone disturbs us you have our full permission to throw them out and snap their wands"

"Yes mistress" Kreatcher smiled, he looked over all the people at the table, almost daring them to disturb his master and mistress.

"Good night all" Harry and Ginny said together before going upstairs to sleep.

"Goodnight kiddo" Sirius called out, before returning to his plate "oh how I love those two. Kreatcher, well done, this food is excellent"

"Thank you master" Kreatcher bowed

"Sirius he can't be serious" Molly turned to him

"He's not, I'm Sirius" Sirius joked before he turned to Kreatcher "Kreatcher, those orders that Harry and Ginny gave to you"

"Yes master?"

"I expect you to enforce them fully with all the effort you can muster" Molly was about to shout but saw Kreatcher look at her with anticipation

"But Sirius" She said in a strained voice "you can't honestly be okay with this?"

"Molly, when Harry was born I promised myself that I would do my best to make him happy. From what I've seen he's at his happiest when Ginny's around, I agree with wanting them to wait until they're older but what's done is done. And I am not about to deprive Harry of his right to sleep in the same bed with his wife."

"But Sirius"

"No Molly" Sirius stood up "I am not budging on this, I made a mistake when I chased Pettigrew and got sent to Azkaban for all of those years. Because of that Harry had to suffer under the hands of his relatives, I had failed as a man and as his godfather. If I have to kill myself to make up for it then I will, my priority is keeping Harry happy. If he wants to live on his own with Ginny he can, if he wants to sleep in a bed with her than he can. They're married and I trust him to be responsible and care for her"

"But she's my daughter" Molly argued

"Funny" Sirius smirked "if you cared for your daughter, truly cared for her, then you wouldn't have tried to force her to be like you"

"What does that mean?" Molly was trying her best not to raise her voice

"Ginny told me about how you want her to be a good housewife and a 'proper lady'. Have you ever thought about what she wanted? Harry has, if you had given her half of the freedom that Harry has given her then she'd still love him, no doubt, but she'd have been less willing to immediately leave her house for him.

Ginny saw two choices, the mother who wanted her to be someone she's not, just like my mother who wanted me to be a dark wizard who would battle alongside Voldermort. Her other choice was a boy who treated her like a princess and supported her and helped her do whatever she wanted and let her be who she wanted to be, choice was pretty obvious in my eyes."

Sirius walked out of the room, he saw Harry and Ginny on the staircase, it was obvious that they were listening to the conversation. He winked at them and the three all went upstairs.

"I meant it" Sirius said before he went into his own room "your happiness is my top priority, if either of you need anything then you just need to ask, okay?"

"Thanks Padfoot" Harry smiled "and for the record I don't blame you for being in Azkaban, that was Peters fault, when I kill him I'll tell you exactly how I do it if you like."

"I don't know how I feel about you killing" Sirius admitted "but I know it's necessary, besides if you go over on the deep end then I can rest easy knowing that Mrs Potter will pull you out"

"Well that's my job" Ginny smiled "if I don't keep him under control then nobody will"

The next day Harry and Ginny woke up early and prepared breakfast for themselves and the twins, and Sirius. They made some for Arthur who went to work, they even made some for Ron, Hermione and Mrs Weasley. Hermione was surprised by how good the food was, so was Mrs Weasley but she still believed that she could do a better job. Ron was also surprised but there was no way he was going to compliment Potter, that didn't stop him from eating it all down like a pig however. Hermione finished first and went straight back upstairs.

"Alright Sirius" Harry spoke once breakfast had finished "me and Ginny will be off now, we'll be back tomorrow alright"

"Why are you coming back?" Ron asked whilst shoving as much food into his mouth

"Because it's his godfathers house you idiot" Ginny replied

"Ginny, don't insult your brother" Mrs Weasley said sternly, she wanted to shout but she would have to settle with this for now.

"AHH!" A scream came from upstairs.

Harry and Ginny sprinted up, followed by the rest. The two then began laughing at the sight in front of them, Hermione stood there with big bunny teeth, pink hair, bunny ears and a cotton tail. The twins also laughed, Ron and Mrs Weasley were still in shock. Sirius wanted to laugh too, but cursed himself for having to be a responsible adult and tried to maintain a straight face.

"What did you do?" Molly growled at the twins, she noticed that Kreatcher looked a little disappointed at the fact that she didn't scream.

"Wasn't us mum" George clutched his side

"But we do want to congratulate who did do it" Fred said whilst leaning on a wall for support

"Thanks" Harry grinned proudly

"What did you do?" Ron growled as he wasn't sure if the no shouting rule applied to him as well

"I set a trap on the library door" Harry smiled "it only opens for me, Ginny and Sirius. If someone tries to open it at least five times than that happens."

"Harry, remove it" Molly ordered

"I would" Harry grinned "but Hermione was told not to go into the library, and in her obsession of knowledge and reading she ignored the rules, this punishment should make sure she remembers that rules are important. Or at least they are when I make them"

"Harry please" Hermione pleaded through her huge teeth

"Sorry Herm" Harry replied, Hermione was too distracted by her teeth and ears to be annoyed by him using the pet name he gave her "that was just like that privacy spell you tripped that one time. Except of course this one lasts at least two weeks"

"Two weeks!" Hermione exclaimed

"Be fortunate it wasn't a month" Harry replied. Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes, she ran down the hall and back to her room.

"How could you do that to Hermione?!" Ron demanded

"I put similar charms on all the rooms you're not supposed to be in" Harry shrugged "in all honesty I expected you to be the first one to trip them. As dumb as Hermione is I expected her to obey the rules when she's in somebody else's house or at the very least realise on the fourth attempt that the door won't open."

"Yeah" Ginny nodded "besides Ron, did Harry make her break rules or try and get into the library five times in a row? She was told that there could be dark art books in there yet she tried to go in anyway" Molly was about to argue but then realised she had no argument, Hermione had broken rules and attempted it multiple times.

"Yeah take his side" Ron spat "of course you'll take his side with all the stuff he buys you, he says he loves you but you're just nothing but a wh…"

Ron was about to say more when a firm hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, he looked eye to eye with the once accused murder and he realised why many people didn't question his innocence. At that moment, he looked like he would murder someone, Ron gulped. To make matters worse the twins had took out their wands and put one on each side of Ron's face.

"Finish that sentence" Sirius dared him in a cold and deadly voice "in fact finish that word, I dare you, I dare you to finish that word! If you want me to control my temper boy, then you will control your tongue, understand?" Ron quickly nodded but Sirius wasn't done.

"Kreatcher, if this boy insults Harry or Ginny then you will shave his head, stick his head down a toilet and break his wand. Then you will make him clean the rest of the house on his own."

"Yes master" Kreatcher smiled gleefully as he rubbed his hands together, Molly was about to say something but then Kreatcher eyed her with wide eyes of hope and anticipation and she shut up.

Harry and Ginny soon left, they visited every second day until the end of the holiday. They conversed with the twins and Sirius and ignored the other three, eventually Hermione returned to normal but she didn't dare try to open another door she wasn't supposed to. She was also unaware of Stink popping in and taking a picture of her when she had her bunny look and popping out. Ron and Mrs Weasley were also kept under control thanks to the threat of Kreatcher, even though it was clear that it was difficult for the both of them.

Overall it was a great summer for Harry and Ginny.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 – Order, toad, Prefect

One day during the holidays, Hermione and Ron were sent upstairs with the twins when a meeting of the order of the phoenix was supposed to happen. Hermione also told Mrs Weasley about the twins using extendable ears, needless to say they were planning to make her aware how stupid that decision was. At the meeting Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, around him was various member s of the Order. Including Mad-eye, Tonks, Sirius, Remus, McGonagall, Kingsley and various others.

"Silence" Dumbledore ordered "first things first, Severus has left the order and has quit his job as potion teacher"

"What?" Mad-eye barked "why?"

"Snape has quit after saying he has found himself a new employer who will help him get rid of Voldermort" Sirius and Remus hid a smile, as did McGonagall, they knew preciously who the employer was.

"Well let's contact him" Tonks suggested "convince him to work with us or contact his employer and convince him to work with us"

"An excellent idea, but unfortunately neither are willing. At least not yet, I plan to personally meet with his employer in the hopes of an agreement. The second order of business is the fact that Voldermort has returned" Many people shuddered, Sirius and Remus rolled their eyes

"He was resurrected from the graveyard with a ritual that involved Mr Potters blood"

"Excuse me" Kingsley interrupted "why hasn't Mr Potter made any comment on this? I would've thought that if Voldermort retuned then he'd be the first to tell people"

"Alas, I do not know. Perhaps he is still in shock and does not believe it happened"

"Trust me" A smooth voice spoke "he is not in shock" Everyone turned to see Snape standing in the corner

"Severus?!" Dumbledore was in shock "what are you doing here? You are no longer a member of the order"

"That is true" Snape nodded "however I am here at the request of my employer"

"Who is your employer?" Kingsley asked

"Him" Snape pointed to the kitchen counter, everyone looked at the counter and dropped their jaws in shock when they saw Harry and Ginny standing there. Harry was flipping pancakes with a frying plan while listening to music through some magically charmed headphones, it was presumably good seeing as Harry was nodding his head in a rhythm and mouthing the words. Ginny was beside him, preparing drinks and getting the cutlery ready.

"Hey Gin" Harry pulled his headphones off and handed them to Ginny "listen to it's really good" Ginny put the head phones on

"Wow you're right" She laughed "this is brilliant"

"Told you" Harry smiled, he then looked at the rest of the order who were looking at him in shock "oh, sorry everyone, we didn't mean to interrupt"

"Are those headphones?" Arthur asked curiously

"Yes dad" Ginny replied "don't worry we'll tell you all about them later"

"What are you two doing here?" Dumbledore gritted his teeth

"Well this is my godfathers house" Harry smiled "if anyone is allowed in here than it's definitely me. Ginny's my wife so where I go she goes and I brought SNape because I figured it be nice for him to get out a little bit, even if it's only to another house"

"Harry" Mrs Weasley gritted her teeth, she wanted to shout but every time she was about to do so she saw Kreatcher looking at her from the corner of her eyes "this is a meeting of the order, you two can't be here"

"Why not?" Ginny took her headphones off

"This is an adult meeting" Mrs Weasley responded "you two can't be here"

"Well that's stupid" Harry replied "need I remind you that if you're discussing what I think you're discussing then it concerns everyone, of age or not. Second of all I can promise you that me and Ginny have a combined mental age of at least two hundred, and as we're considered adults we are more than allowed to stay in this meeting"

"Considered adults?" Kingsley asked

"Yes Mr Shacklebolt" Ginny responded politely "me and Harry are married and thanks to our marriage we are considered of age"

"You two are married?" Kingsley asked in shock

"Well if you have an opportunity then don't waste it" Harry replied

"Smart words" Mad-eye smiled

"But how did you two get married?"

"He asked" Ginny pointed to Harry

"And she accepted" Harry pointed to Ginny "that is all we're willing to say on that particular topic"

"But you're still not members" One member pointed out

"It's fine" Dumbledore said "they can attend this meeting, it does concern them and we may need their help" Dumbledore was a bit peeved but this was a golden opportunity, if things went good he could get Harry to help him and maybe even get him to join the order. That would put him right under his thumb.

"I will get back to you two in a minute" Dumbledore continued "but first there is one more topic I wish to discuss, there is a vigilante that has been targeting known death eaters. He is known as 'Curse', sadly we know next to nothing about him"

"I've met him before" Mad-eye spoke "when Crouch had me locked in his trunk, he came to me, he gave me a separate trunk filled with medicine and food. He told me to hide it from Crouch and stay put until someone got me out, I wasn't about to argue with him"

"Was there anything else?" Kingsley asked

"Yes" Moody nodded "he knew all about Crouch impersonating me and his plan to trick Potter into the tournament."

"He what?" Harry acted shocked, in fact he looked so convincing that Ginny was ready to suggest becoming an actor

"He said he knew all about it" Moody continued "even told me the plan and everything. Albus, he also said that he thinks you knew all about it"

"What?!" Dumbledore actually was in shock, he took a moment to regain his composure "I assure you Alastor, I knew nothing until his capture"

"Curse didn't seem to think so" Moody replied, he had doubts over if Dumbledore was telling the truth but he was smart enough not to voice them in front of him and his most loyal followers "he said if you hadn't done nothing by the end of the tournament then he was going to do it himself. I asked him why he was doing this" Everyone leaned forward

"He said that he didn't belong to the light or the dark, said he was a product of war and evil and the unwillingness to vanquish it, he said he was giving the light a chance to rid the world of darkness. Judging by the news I think he was a bit disappointed that we didn't do as much as he liked. From what I gather this guy is anti-Voldermort but I could sense the power coming from him, I'd recommend staying out of his way."

"We cannot do that Alastor" Dumbledore responded firmly "though his intentions may be good, his methods are entirely wrong. Killing people without giving them a chance for redemption, we cannot support this, if we did then think of all those sent to the next great adventure without the chance to reform and redeem themselves"

"You know Albus I figured out why Hogwarts was so ineffective" Snape spoke up "the teachers were led by a naïve idiot" Many voices were raised

"How dare you?" Mrs Weasley growled

"Please" Snape scoffed "Dumbledore, you're living in a childish fantasy, some people can be redeemed. Some people Albus, but not all of them"

"Severus" Dumbledore spoke sternly "I think you've forgotten the opportunity I gave you"

"How can I when you keep holding it over me?" Snape muttered before speaking out loud "Dumbledore I admit that I asked for redemption, but I only did it because of Lilly, quite frankly if it wasn't for Lilly's death I would still be one of those death eaters. Others like Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, people who murder and bribe without a second thought. Do you truly believe that they'll change when they do not fear punishment?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance" Dumbledore replied stubbornly "now Severus, as you are not a member you will speak only when spoke to."

"Yes your highness" Snape sarcastically responded, Harry and Ginny snickered in the background while Remus and Sirius had developed a new found respect for Snape.

"As I was saying" Dumbledore spoke again "if we see him we must stop him, if possible we can convince him to join the order, if not then we will hand him to the ministry"

"Sir" Harry raised a hand "sorry to interrupt but it could be a girl for all we know"

"Nonsense" Molly scoffed "no woman could fight against all those death eaters and burn those houses" All of the female members glared at Molly, the men wisely kept shut. Ginny also glared, she knew that Curse was definitely not a woman s she knew exactly who he was but the implication that no woman was capable of doing it made her furious. True that no woman or man could do what Harry can, but she was still furious. Harry grabbed her hand and sent calming messages to her, eventually they worked but Ginny was still muttering things like how she couldn't believe this woman was her mother.

"Back to our previous topic" Dumbledore continued on, he and Mrs Weasley didn't seem to notice the glares "Voldermort has retuned, I'd like for all of you to prepare, train and learn as much as you can. Harry, I'd like you to join me in declaring his return was real"

"No thank you" Harry politely refused

"Harry, why not?"

"Having my name slandered by a bunch of reporters for telling them something that they won't believe isn't my idea of a fun time. Besides, I never told anyone that Voldermort returned."

"Harry don't lie" Mrs Weasley demanded "the headmaster…"

"Wasn't there in the graveyard" Ginny interrupted

"Thank you Ginny" Harry continued "I am curious sir, I never told you that Voldermort returned. I remember telling you that Pettigrew captured me for a ritual to bring me back and escaped before I could get him but that was pretty much all I had told you. I am curious sir as to how you came to the conclusion that he had returned when I never told you he did" Silence fell as the entire order looked at Dumbledore.

"Harry" He spoke slowly "I have my reasons for believing he has returned "

"Would you like to tell me them?" Harry smirked

"Not yet" Dumbledore spoke as softly as he could, which in reality was very hard for him.

"Naturally" Harry replied

"Harry, I was wondering if you and Ginny would like to join the order"

"But they're just children" Molly objected

"I'm also the youngest tri-wizard champion ever, and I'm willing to bet that I could give anyone here a duel"

"It's true" Sirius sighed "he's managed to beat both me and Remus when we duelled him"

"Me as well" Snape admitted

"Thank you" Harry nodded "I appreciate your offer but me and Ginny will not be joining"

"Harry I implore you to see reason" Dumbledore responded "we must work together to battle Voldermort"

"Not really" Harry shrugged "we don't really need to work together, personally I like Mr Snape disagree with how you've been going about things, you're too defensive. For example, off the top of my head, let's say that Voldy is alive and if he is then why don't we send Snape in as a spy one more time and have him give Voldy a slow acting poison so by the time he gets back Voldermort is already having his body checked for signs of life?" He knew it wouldn't work because of the horcruxes that he had but the rest of them didn't, he could see them all wondering why they couldn't do that.

"Kids right" Moody nodded "we're too defensive, we need to take the fight to them"

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke "we cannot kill, to do so would make us no better than the ones we stop"

"Really?" Harry asked in mock confusion "to kill an evil dark lord who has murdered countless people in an act that is basically self-defence and will prevent hundreds of deaths makes us worse than the death eaters? You really put things into perspective." Ginny smiled, she could see the others were mentally agreeing with Harry and Dumbledore was trying to think up an excuse. She figured that while she was here she might as well help Harry disrupt the meeting

"Does anyone want pancakes?" she asked

"Oh me" Sirius and Remus sat down, everyone was surprised when Snape also joined them.

"What?" Snape said to the gobsmacked members "I may despise the majority of humanity, pretty much everyone honestly, but I still need food"

"I'll have some while I'm here" Tonks plopped down "I can never get enough of Harry's cooking"

"Me too" Mad-eye joined them "it's hard to be constantly vigilant on an empty stomach"

"Right" Moly sighed "I'll start cooking"

"No thank you mother" Ginny replied "me and Harry have got it"

"Now Ginny…"

"Leave off it Molly" Moody interrupted "I've heard rumours of their cooking skills from Padfoot and Remus, I'd like them to put their money where their mouths are, or more accurately their food where my mouth is"

"Kreatcher" Harry called "help us with the cooking and serving our 'guests' please"

"Yes master" Kreatcher nodded, Molly was about to say something but Kreatcher fixed her with a glare.

"Now Harry" Dumbledore started but the next thing he knew everyone had started being served pancakes, he tried to regain order but was overshadowed by the delicious taste and sweet allure of Harry and Ginny's cooking. Dumbledore sighed and left, nothing else was accomplished that day. Funnily enough Dumbledore didn't call another order meeting until Harry and Ginny had to return to Hogwarts.

Soon it was time to return to Hogwarts, Harry and Ginny made their own way to the castle. They saw Hermione and Ron there with Mrs Weasley and the twins. Hermione tried desperately not to look at Harry, Ron glared at him along with his mother while the twins stood behind them and smiled wildly. Once they got their own compartment the twins joined them.

"Good news guys" George spoke first

"We've found a building in Diagon Alley" Fred smiled

"It needs a bit of work but"

"We brought it"

"We've also ordered all our products"

"So the shop will be ready before the school year ends"

"We could have got it done sooner"

"But mother insists that we stay at school"

"And we decided to obey"

"At least until the shops ready"

"Then we are straight out of there"

"Good for you guys" Harry smiled "I think with what's coming up, we could all use some fun"

"What do you mean?" Fred asked

"Voldermorts back" Harry explained "the ministry won't want to believe it until it's too late and I'm not going to try and convince them otherwise. You've seen what they've done to Dumbledore's reputation, I suspect that they're planning to do more this year." Suddenly the door opened and Draco Malfoy stood there with his two body guards

"Hello Potter" Malfoy sneered at him

"Hello Malfoy junior" Harry smiled "did your father tell you the story of my heroic victory over the dark idiot? Or did he make something up about me not beating him?"

"Make up all the lies you want" Draco raised his chin "when he gets through with you, you'll be begging for forgiveness"

"Draco, you know what the difference is between me and you? You come from a line of dependent idiots, you depend heavily on your father and voldermort while he did the same with his father and voldermort. Me, I take what I want, I do whatever it takes to get it and if I'm determined then nothing will stop me. I don't make empty promises so trust me when I promise that one day I will kill Voldermort"

"You're delusional" Malfoy spat and walked off

"Prick" George muttered

"Now calm down brother" Fred grinned evilly "we shouldn't insult little Malfoy after he did us the honour of providing a target for the year"

"Ah too true brother" George gave him a matching grin.

"He's screwed isn't he?" Harry whispered

"Oh hell yeah" Ginny replied. Before Harry could reply, Hermione and Ron opened the door.

"Can I help you two?" Harry sighed

"Look Harry" Hermione started "when you go to school, you should tell everyone what happened in the graveyard"

"Why don't you?" Harry responded

"I wasn't there!"

"Still not my fault" The twins and Ginny snickered as Hermione desperately tried to maintain a calm face.

"Harry" She spoke with a forced calmness "don't you think you should tell people what happened? I mean we deserve to know, You-know-who returned that night didn't he?"

"I am not confirming or denying anything" Harry responded

"What?!" Ron shouted "Why not?"

"Listen Ron" Ginny spoke up "Harry does not have to explain his reasoning to a person whose highest intelligence can be overshadowed by the intelligence of a rock"

"Nobody was talking to you!"

"Need I remind you" Harry interrupted "as my wife, anything concerning me concerns her and vice versa. But I do find it funny how you two have already come to the conclusion that he has when I never said he did"

"Dumbledore said he has" Hermione replied

"Was Dumbledore in the graveyard with Harry?" Ginny replied "honestly if Dumbledore told you that Draco Malfoy killed Voldermort would you believe it?"

"Ginny!" Ron shivered "don't say his name"

"I'm not worried" Ginny replied "if we ever saw him then Harry could deal with him"

"Like Harry could beat you-know-who" Ron snorted

"So Ron" Ginny smiled "you're saying Dumbledore's a liar? Because he was the one who told people that Harry beat him as a baby and he was the one who said Harry escaped the graveyard. If Harry couldn't beat him then you must be calling him a liar."

"No!" Ron shouted, looking like he said something blasphemous "I…just…"

"Talked without thinking?" Harry finished for him "you do a lot of that, it's a bit annoying really"

"Harry" Hermione spoke before Ron could start shouting "this is important. People need to know"

"Why?" Harry asked

"So they could prepare…"

"Prepare" Harry looked at her with amusement "you want me to go and tell everyone that a person who was so feared that people still refuse to say his name has returned so they could 'prepare' even though all they'd do is be afraid and panic or refuse to believe it. And you want me to do this all on the word of a school headmaster?"

"Guys" Ron looked at the twins "tell him"

"Don't bother Ron" Fred smiled

"Yeah" George nodded

"The only person"

"Who can make Harry do something"

"is Ginny"

"And if he doesn't want"

"To do it"

"Then she probably"

"Won't make him"

"Ginny" Ron turned to his sister "tell him to tell the truth" Everyone apart from Harry was surprised when Ginny started laughing "what's so funny?!"

"Just this idea that I control Harry" Ginny eventually stopped laughing "I don't control Harry"

"Me and Gin are equals in this relationship" Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders "neither of us are better than the other"

"That's why I always found the idea of Harry being 'whipped' funny" Ginny leaned against Harry "we're equals, I don't tell Harry to do something that he wouldn't want to do."

"But you stopped him from killing Malfoy in third year" Hermione argued

"Stopped him?" Ginny looked at Hermione with an amused look "Hermione I just calmed him down enough to get him to think clearly, if he ever truly lost control then I wouldn't tell him to stop. I'd just a safe spot and stay out of the way and conduct damage control."

"Look Harry" Hermione gritted her teeth "just tell us what happened, you have nothing to gain from not telling the truth."

"Fine" Harry sighed "I'll tell you a little bit about what happened" Hermione looked on, eager for Harry to start

"Self-defence" Harry answered in a robotic voice "it was so fast, I don't even know what happened because I was hyped on adrenaline"

"Hey Harry" George spoke before Hermione could respond "have you read the newspaper as of late"

"Yes I have, why?"

"Do you know anything about this 'Curse' fellow?" Fred asked

"Far as I'm concerned I think the guys brilliant" Harry replied

"I agree" Ginny agreed "it's nice to finally have someone do something about death eaters"

"What do you mean finally?!" Hermione interrupted "Professor Dumbledore has always fought against death eaters"

"True" Harry admitted "but he's not very effective is he, stun them and lock them up and hope they can change. Why are the Lestranges even still alive? They've fully admitted to joining Voldermort and they've accepted their crimes with pride, any spell or potion that could've been used to force them to say they all of that stuff would have worn off by now but they're still alive hoping their master comes back.

Frankly Dumbledore may have good intentions but he's a little naïve and not exactly the right person to be leading the fight against death eaters"

"Bullshit!" Ron exclaimed "Dumbledore's twice the wizard you are, you'd never match up to him, you're just an attention seeking prat"

"Careful Ronald" Ginny crossed her arms "or we may just have to take away points from you"

"Points?"

"Yes Ronald" Ginny said smugly "me and Harry can do that seeing as we're prefects" Ginny pulled her badge out of her pocket and Harry did the same with his

"Oh come on" Ron growled "there's no way you two should be prefects, especially you Ginny, I mean who would chose you over Hermione?"

"Take it up with McGonagall" Harry replied "oh and Ron, five points for insulting a student" Ron scowled before walking off

"I can't believe it" George put his head in his hands

"Neither can I?" Fred did the same

"Our glorious leader"

"Head of our group"

"Our role model"

"is one of them"

"If by them you mean prefect then yes I am" Harry responded "now boys, I'm going to tell you all about marauder lesson number one" The twins stared at Harry with their full attention

"Excuse me" Ginny turned to Hermione "private conversation going on here"

"Why I can't I listen?"

"Because Harry has something to tell the twins and it's between them, now hurry up because we only have a minute or two before we have to go the prefect compartment" Hermione growled and left

"As I was saying" Harry spoke "the first and most important lesson is use everything to your advantage" The twins looked confused

"Guys" Ginny decided to help "being prefect's gives us a bit more work"

"But" Harry continued "it also gives us a few extra privileges"

"Such as the ability to take points from people"

"Including red headed prats"

"Book worms"

"Arrogant purebloods" The twins were starting to get interested so Harry and Ginny continued

"It also gives us the ability to stay up later than everyone"

"And while we could and are going to use that for a lot of things"

"I look forward to that"

"As do I, but one of the things we could use it for"

"Is to set up pranks"

"Besides who would suspect a couple of responsible prefects" The compartment was silent for a moment.

"That's bloody brilliant!" The twins exclaimed

"Of course it is" Harry chuckled "you ever notice how when a prank happens we let you two take the credit even if you didn't do it, you're the front of our group, me and Ginny are the silent pranksters. We're the ones that nobody can prove actually did the prank, in the original group my dad and Sirius had your job while Remus had ours"

"I'm curious" Fred replied "what did Pettigrew do?"

"According to Sirius and Remus he provided moral support, and laughed, but they never trusted him to do an actual prank after third year when he got caught trying to sneak coughing powder into McGonagall's cup. The worst part was he was supposed to put it in a Snapes cup"

"Alright Harry" Ginny stood up "we got to go to the meeting, you two hold our compartment till we get back"

Harry and Ginny made their way to the prefects compartment, inside they saw that Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil were the Ravenclaw prefects, Hufflepuff had chosen Hannah Abbot and Ernie Macmillan. They were surprised to see that the Slytherin prefects were Draco and Pansy but they hid it well.

' _No way Snape would've chosen them_ ' Harry mentally called to Ginny

' _Probably the ministries doing_ '

' _No doubt, wonder how many galleons Lucius got set back._ '

' _Quite a few I'd imagine, it's a shame, I was hoping Daphne was here_ '

' _You and me both. I would've enjoyed conversing with a Slytherin who can do more than say their house name and whine when things go wrong. Come on, when they try to get a reaction act calm and don't get emotional_ '

' _Got it, a target that doesn't get angry isn't a fun target._ '

' _Preciously_ ' Harry and Ginny sat down, Malfoy and Pansy looked towards them.

"Well look" Malfoy drawled "if it isn't Potty and the Weaslet"

"Actually" Ginny smiled "it's Potter and Potter to you"

"What does that mean?" Pansy demanded

"This" Ginny showed Pansy her ring "I became Mrs Potter last year" Pansy's disappointed look was not missed by anyone

"Whatever" Draco shrugged "tell me Potter, when you could've had any girl you wanted, so why did you decide to have one that was born in a gutter? I mean her bloods pure but other than that she doesn't have much going for her" Everyone looked at Harry and waited for a reaction, to the outside observer he was quite calm looking. Ginny however could see the images in his head, there were several but they all ended with Draco getting killed

"Well Malfoy" Harry calmly responded "firstly I'd say because she's good looking, you can't argue that as I saw you looking at her at the Yule ball" Malfoy paled slightly when Pansy turned on him

"He what?!" She shrieked "I was his date but he was looking at her!" Malfoy was about to point out how she was looking at Potter but then Potter, the male one, decided to continue talking.

"As for her blood I don't really give a damn if she's a pureblood or not, and in response to your gutter comment, I'd like to remind you that I'm heir to the Potter and Black family. That means I could buy you and your father twenty times over and then still be able to buy your mother for a night" Everyone's jaw dropped.

"Though I wouldn't do that, partly because I'm married to Ginny and feel sorry for your mother for being related to you and your father, poor woman, but mostly because buying you two would be a great waste of money. In my personal opinion I think you're both overpriced, but my point is that as my wife, Ginny could do the same. So to summarise Ginny is a talented, good looking, rich witch who is kind enough to grant you the privilege of breathing the same air as her. Whilst I am a rage machine who has nearly killed you twice before, I'd advise thinking carefully about who you chose to make enemies with Draco. You may have a lot of money and a good name but I'd like to remind you that don't stop curses or fists…just saying" Harry shrugged

The whole compartment was in silence, Draco didn't respond, he couldn't respond. The other prefects were halfway between shock and laughing, Ginny was closer to laughing. Harry looked at Malfoy with an amused expression.

"Harry" Pansy spoke "you know I come from a very respectful family" Everyone raised an eyebrow "we're very rich, richer than the Weasleys at least, you know I'd make a better wife than her"

"While I appreciate the offer" Ginny could sense immense discomfort coming from him "I vowed to love Ginny and only Ginny so I don't think I could accept your offer, Draco might, lord knows he needs a good snog. I'm sorry Crabbe dumped you by the way"

"What?!" Malfoy shouted "he never dumped me"

"You dumped him?" Harry asked curiously

"No I didn't dump him!"

"So you're still dating?" Harry asked, everyone else was trying their best not to laugh "well as fun as our love lives are, I would rather start this meeting so me and my wife could go back to our compartment and enjoy a nice snog" Harry leaned closer to Draco

"I'm sure Crabbe would do the same for you if you asked nicely" He whispered, just loud enough for everyone to hear. He gave Malfoy a wink, and turned to face Ginny who had actually clasped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

The meeting started, Draco was utterly furious, not just by what Potter had said. But also because the others were still trying not to laugh, ten minutes after he had said it, and the fact that Pansy looked disappointed that Potter had chosen the blood traitor over her. After the meeting ended, Harry and Ginny were the first out, they went back to their compartment where the twins were waiting. They closed the door and fell to their seats laughing.

They told the twins what had happened and they joined them laughing, even more so when Draco walked by and walked as far away from Crabbe as possible, Harry quickly got out his two way mirror and contacted Sirius who was there with Remus. He told his two role models what happened and Sirius had given a laughing Remus the mirror, Harry was very sure that Sirius had collapsed laughing.

"We're proud of you Harry" Remus said through the mirror "that was truly brilliant. Padfoot agrees but he laughed so hard he literally turned into a dog, now, sorry to ruin the moment but I should let you know that a concern has come up. We have received news that Dolores Umbridge is the new defence teacher.

She may not be a death eater but she is as good as one, it's widely known that she despises all none pureblood beings. In fact she's behind most of the anti-werewolf laws that the ministry currently enforce." Harry and Ginny growled, they could have sworn they heard Sirius growl as well.

"Yes" Remus continued "she's also widely hated throughout the ministry, it appears that the minister is fond of her for some reason. She's likely here on behalf of the ministry, be careful what you say around her, one wrong word and she'll be convinced your conspiring against the ministry."

"You'll recognise her" Sirius showed his face again "she'll be the one dressed in pink who looks like a toad"

"Padfoot" Remus replied "don't say that, that's offensive….to toads"

"Yeah: Sirius snorted "point is be careful"

"This woman" Harry replied "would you say she's smart?"

"Not really" Sirius and Remus responded at the exact same time

"Excellent" Harry smiled "the best idiots are the ones you can prank, what's even better are the ones you can use"

"What?" Remus said before having a sudden moment of realisation "Harry James Potter, you are a genius"

"Thank you" Harry smiled "I like to think I got it from mum and you" Remus blushed

"What about me?" Sirius asked

"Well I clearly got Dads looks but who do you think I inherited my skill with girls and pranking from"

"Ah that's good" Sirius exclaimed "I'd gladly be known for giving you that. But seriously what did you mean by ones you can use"

"We got to go" Ginny spoke once she saw the castle "Remus can explain it to you"

"Fine" Sirius replied "Harry I want you to try and have fun this year, remember that life is nothing without a bit of fun, Ginny I'm assigning you with the task of looking after my godson"

"So keep doing what I've been doing" Ginny cheekily replied

"Good girl" Sirus smiled "see you guys later"

Soon everyone arrived at the great hall, the foursome sat with Neville. Dumbledore stood up, he looked at Harry who smiled at him as if nothing had gone wrong. Dumbledore was admittedly a bit angry, Dumbledore was certain that Voldermort had returned but Potter never joined him in telling people. He couldn't work out why he didn't want to tell people, he didn't look too shaken up and Harry seemed like the type to do something about it.

Dumbledore began his speech, he noticed that Potter looked quite bored, halfway through he was interrupted.

"Hem, hem!" Someone coughed, a woman with curly hair stood up. She walked from the head table and stood in front of Dumbledore.

Harry and Ginny took in her appearance, she was wearing so much pink that even a five year old girl would be sickened by it. He noticed the disgusted looks she was getting from the head of houses, and frankly Harry couldn't blame them if half of what he had heard about this woman was true. Harry looked at her wide hips, small eyes and massive jaw, so did Ginny.

' _Toad'_ They both thought at the exact same time. Remus was always one for accuracy. The toad began her speech but Harry and Ginny ignored her, by the end of it they looked up to see many people were doing the same thing or at least wishing they were somewhere else. At the end of the speech Dumbledore dismissed everyone.

"First years with us" Harry and Ginny called, they lead the first years to the common room and told them where they were stating and the rules of Hogwarts.

"Now remember" Harry spoke "if you ever need any help with anything, like homework or if there is any trouble then you can come to us two if you can't find a teacher. We'll deal with it for you and help you as best as we can and tell the teachers on your behalf. Any questions?" A few raised their hands

"And before anyone says anything, yes, he is the real Harry Potter" Ginny spoke, she was quite amused when most of them put their hands down. They answered a few questions before sending the first years off to sleep. They went out of the common room and went to the room of requirement, the elves were preparing a room for married couples for them and the two had decided to stay in the room of requirement until it was ready.

While those two were having their 'pre-sleep ritual', another two were heading towards McGonagall's office. They knocked and upon hearing permission to come inside they did. McGonagall was busy preparing her lesson plans when she heard a knock, then inside came none other than Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley.

"Can I help you?"

"Professor" Ron spoke first "we were wondering something" When he didn't say anymore McGonagall spoke

"Mr Weasley, I can assure you that mind reading is not one of my many talents, so it would be beneficial for you to tell me what has brought you to my office"

"Well miss" Hermione spoke next "we were actually wondering about the prefects"

"Yeah" Ron nodded "why does 'perfect potter' get the prefect position and how on earth does my sister get chosen over Hermione?"

"I see" McGonagall sighed "listen to me, the both of you. Being a prefect is an important task, the prefects are the role models of the school. Mr Potter not only has the best grades in his year, he is also, whether you like it or not, incredibly popular amongst the students and many teachers including myself would not hesitate to say he is our favourite pupil.

Another reason is because prefects need to be willing to help people. Mr Longbottom claims that he would be nowhere near as advanced in his class without Mr Potters help, and from what I've seen in class I'm inclined to agree. I've had a great number of students from various years and houses inform me about how Mr Potter has helped them past exams or complete their homework. Whether you like him or not, he is a well behaved student who rarely gets in trouble and many people in the younger years look up to him. Not just in Gryffindor, but the other three houses as well."

"Fine" Ron mumbled "but what about Ginny? Why would you pick her when Hermione is the smartest girl in the year?"

"Mr Weasley" McGonagall replied whilst making a mental note to ask Poppy for headache pills "though Miss Granger, is academically gifted she is the third best in theoretical knowledge as Mrs and Mr Potter are ahead of her. Practically she was barely keeping up with Mr Longbottom by the start of her third year whilst your sister is margins ahead of her. There is also the manner of how the other students react to her.

Forgive me for sounding rude but it's clear that you do not get along with your classmates as well as the Potters do. The quidditch team and various other students have actually sent me letters saying that those two were the only people they were willing to accept as prefects. I've also compiled some statistics, ever since those two arrived there have been various changes to Hogwarts. Gryffindor's had started getting less detentions, more points, higher grades and we've won the house cup four years in a row. This all leads back to the Potters, they seem the most capable of helping the younger students and the most likely to get along with them"

"I get along with younger students" Hermione argued

"Miss Granger" McGonagall gave her the 'are you stupid?' look, "I believe I can both start and end my argument against that on the incident where you made two first years cry. If that's not sufficient for you then there is also the incident where a first year reported that she felt 'forced' to buy one of your badges for that elf campaign you started."

Hermione and Ron fell quiet, they knew that there was nothing they could say that would help improve this situation. McGonagall at this point didn't really care for their discomfort, she just wanted them gone.

"Well it's quite late so if you'd like to go as I am not permitting you to break curfew" The two nodded and left.

McGonagall took a breath and leaned back, not for the first time in her life she wondered why she decided to teach. She remembered James and Sirius, those two were huge trouble makers but they were just naughty and at least compensated with their school work. When she had found out what Albus had done she lost all respect for the man, teaching just didn't feel the same, she would have left if Harry didn't want her to stay.

She found that funny, she was his teacher, head of house and deputy headmistress yet she was taking orders from a boy who had'n't even taken his owl exams yet.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28 –

It was late at night, when three people in death eater masks found themselves in Hogsmead. They entered the three broomsticks and found Madam Rosmerta cleaning.

"Sorry we're closed" She spoke as she wiped some food off a table, she looked up and gasped and jumped back when she saw the death eaters standing in front of her.

"Hello Rosie" The main death eater walked towards her "todays a joyous occasion, me and my friends are celebrating the return of our master. We figured we'd start with a drink, but personally I'd like some entertainment." The death eater placed a hand on Rosemerta's cheek and placed the other on her hips, pulling her closer.

"You'd do nice, I've always thought you were beautiful. Tonight will be a nice night."

"Listen I um…" Rosmerta glanced behind him, all of a sudden her fearful expression had gone and to the death eaters surprise she smirked "as much as I'd like to help you, tonight's entertainment has already been provided by someone else."

"What?" The confused death eater asked "what are you on about?"

"Him" She gestured with her head.

The death eater released her and turned back, the sight in front of him truly frightened him. His two death eaters friends were dead, one laid on the floor with blood pouring out of his head whilst the other fell from leaning on the wall while the blood poured out of his neck.

"I'll excuse myself" Rosmerta smiled and left the room. As soon as she was gone the remaining death eater took in the appearance of the new person that was standing there.

He wore black combat boots and trousers, a grey shirt with black robes. His hands were covered by gloves and he had a fancy looking wand in his right hand. The figures face couldn't be seen as the hood he wore shadowed it away from being seen.

"I know you!" The death eater came to a realization "You're that 'Curse' guy!" The figure merely nodded "Look…you may as well give up, the dark lord is the strongest there is! There's no way you'd be able to beat him"

"I've done it before" Curse replied "I'll do it again."

"You what?!" The death eater shouted in disbelief. He raised his wand and fired a curse, he didn't really know what happened after that but he did remember Curse placing his hand around his throat. 

The next day, Harry and Ginny woke up early and after their morning workout the two headed to the great hall for breakfast, nobody was there, except for the three remaining head of houses.

"Morning" Harry greeted them

"Hello" Sprout smiled

"Good morning Potters" Flitwick chirped

"Good day to the both of you" McGonagall greeted "are either of you aware of a very interesting article that appeared in this mornings newspaper?"

"Article?" Ginny asked

"Apparently there was an attack at the three broomsticks by death eaters, but Curse entered the fray and there are now three less death eaters"

"Wow" Harry exclaimed "that was quick, I only just went out at midnight"

"Why were you out?" Flitwick asked

"Well my ink pot spilled in my bag, so I went out to quickly get a new one. I took one, left the money on the counter then I saw three people in death eater masks. They went in, I went in, I came out."

"Did you use that new spell?" Flitwick asked, ignoring the fact that the student in front of him admitted to murder.

"The bullet one?" Harry asked "yeah, I used it. It's brilliant, though I'm not planning on letting anyone know about it. The spell acts just like an actual bullet and they are slightly faster than certain spells, plus quite deadly. I can teach you three the spell, I've already taught it to Ginny but that's where that particular class ends."

"Why just us?" Sprout was curious.

"The spell is dangerous and making it widely known is just giving the death eaters another weapon to use." Harry answered

"Besides I don't want to trust half of the people in this castle with a bullet spell" Ginny added

"It's also a spell that nobody has used before" Harry continued "nobody except Curse"

"Ah" Flitwick exclaimed as he realized what Harry was saying "you want to use the spell as a calling card?"

"Yeah" Harry nodded "Voldermort made his presence known by leaving the dark mark, for me it's a magical bullet."

"The newspaper also said something else" McGonagall replied "apparently when they walked in they found the three bodies had been branded with the word 'cursed'."

"Fear is everything here" Harry shrugged "Voldermort is simply a very powerful wizard but he used peoples fear to make himself seem much worse. I'm using fear to inspire hope in the non-death eaters and scare the will power and loyalty out of the actual death eaters." Further conversation halted as the sound of a clearing voice made everyone turn to the woman who was now approaching them.

' _Does this woman know there are more_ _colors_ _in the world besides pink?_ ' Ginny asked

' _I think the fact that this woman possesses enough brain power to dress herself is a miracle_ ' Harry replied

"Good morning" Umbridge greeted everyone in a cheery voice

"Good morning Professor Umbridge" Harry and Ginny chorused

"By the way" Harry continued speaking "have you heard about this vigilante? He calls himself 'Curse'."

"I have" Umbridge's smile faltered for a second "rest assured the ministry will capture this criminal"

"Oh we know they will" Ginny replied "we just think it's a bit sad"

"What's sad?"

"Those death eaters" Harry clarified "I mean thanks to Dumbledore they're convinced that their old master has returned and they think that they can just go around and break rules because of it"

"What do you mean?" Umbridge raised an eyebrow "you and Dumbledore have both been spreading those lies"

"I assure you I haven't" Harry snorted "all I did was tell him that Peter kidnapped me and tried to use a dark ritual to revive him, I never at any point told him that Voldermort had returned." Umbridge flinched at the name, before her smile grew wider and she quickly turned and left the hall.

"She's probably off to tell the minister" Ginny commented "so how are we going to deal with her?"

"Well we're not going to do anything major, not yet at least. For now we're just going to annoy her as much as possible, she thinks we're on the ministries side so she won't do anything at first or at the very least she won't think we're supporting Dumbledore."

Soon came the time of Umbridge's first lesson. She immediately entered and told everyone to put their wands away, after a forced greeting she made them open their books. In her eyes everything was going perfectly, she sat on her chair at her desk when a ribbit sound was heard. She immediately shot up, after a brief moment of confusion she sat down again and the same sound was heard.

It took her five minutes to deduce that the sound occurred every time she sat down in her chair, she tried sitting on the table instead. It made her feel very uncomfortable marking papers like this, Harry decided to make things worse, a well hidden cutting curse on one of the legs and Umbridge fell to the floor once the table broke. Laughter echoed throughout the room.

"ENOUGH!" Umbridge shouted as she stood up "I WILL HAVE ORDER!" The class reluctantly became silent. Umbridge huffed before she started picking up the fallen papers.

"What?" She asked when Hermione had raised her hand

"I have a question Professor" Hermione answered "about the course aims, it doesn't say anything about using spells"

"Using spells" Umbridge gave her a sickly sweet smile "I can't see why you'd need to use spells"

"Being in a school that teaches magic might be a reason" Harry whispered to Ginny

"But isn't there a practical portion in our exams?" Hermione asked

"As long as you've studied the theory then you should be fine" Umbridge responded

"Without practising it first?!" Ron shouted

"You will raise your hand, Mr…" Umbridge prompted

"Weasley" Ron answered "how are we supposed to pass without practising? We need to practise for what's out there"

"There is nothing out there" Umbridge replied

"Yes there is" Ron argued "ask Potter, he saw it"

"Ah" Umbridge's face lit up "Mr Potter has never claimed that you-know-who had returned, only Dumbledore and his followers have ever claimed it to be true. They've done this in a blatant attempt to cause panic and make people lose faith in the ministry. There is nothing out there, who do you think would harm children such as yourselves? Do you think you're in danger in my classroom?"

"Yes" Harry raised his hand "first year I was attacked by Quirrell, second year Lockhart was a fraud who could have potentially been using memory charms on students and fourth year we were taught by a death eater. Funnily enough the only decent defence teacher who hasn't posed a danger was the werewolf" Umbridge twitched her eyes a little.

She spent the rest of the class ignoring everyone, Ron and Hermione lost everyone a lot of points by constantly arguing and both got put in detention. But Umbridge kept looking at Harry, almost as if she was trying to figure him out.

Soon it came time for Harry to go to the quidditch try-outs, Angelina had insisted that the all the team be there to help out with the try outs. Harry decided to come whether she wanted him there or not, for the simple reason of Ginny trying out for the reserve team.

"Ginny" Harry spoke to her as he made his way there with Ginny at his side "you going for chaser?"

"Of course" Ginny smiled

"Well, I was thinking, perhaps you could apply for keeper as well"

"What?" Ginny raised an eyebrow

"Well the chaser positions are already full" Harry explained "so even if you do better than the current keepers you'd still be a reserve, and as they rarely ever get injured or take time off, you'd likely play two games a year at most. I'm proposing you apply for the reserve position and current keeper position"

"Any other reason?" Ginny said in a knowing voice

"Other than the fact that I want to play with my wife?" Harry smirked "There is actually, I remember one of those times I played at the burrow, you had to be keeper because you drew the short straw. You were good as well, usually it's Ron who played Keeper but you were so much better at him. Plus I know you like being keeper and you can change it next year."

"True" Ginny admitted "any other reason?"

"Fine" Harry sighed "as much as I hate to admit it, your brother has some, some, keeping talent…never tell anyone I admitted that"

"I won't"

"Thank you, but him being a keeper wouldn't be a good thing. If he became keeper, there'd be bets in the common room over which team member kills him and when. Personally I think it'd be Angelina first, she always looks like she's about to snap when he's near."

"Fine" Ginny laughed before pecking Harry on the cheek "if it means keeping my husband sane then I will gladly accept"

"Thanks Gin" Harry kissed her back.

Harry went over to the team while Ginny stood with the reserves, Harry explained what he had just discussed with Angelina and she seemed all for it. Everyone in the team knew that Angelina would likely kill Ron, Fred and George sometimes even stood between them just in case.

First the reserves tried out for chaser, a few had potential and some were good. Then all eyes came on Ginny, she flew like a natural and the team beamed at her with pride. The current chasers had helped her train over the years along with Harry so they were not surprised at how good she was.

Then the team moved onto the beaters, they found two with good potential, they weren't as good as the twins but then again not many people were. Then came the turn of the keepers, a few were good, then came Ron's turn. Ron blocked most of them but let a few in, at the moment he was in the lead. Harry could see Angelina holding her clipboard and pen as if they were Ron's neck, the other two chasers looked to be praying, while the twins winked at Ginny.

Ron landed after his turn feeling pretty confident, after all he was the best so far and the only person left was Ginny. No way a girl like her could outdo him, he'd love to see Potters face when he beats her.

Ginny took her position and the quaffles started flying, one was about to enter when Ginny spun and batted it away with her broom. The second one she caught, kicked away the third and hit the fourth with her broom. Ron's jaw dropped as he saw Ginny hadn't let a single one go through, he would've made the argument that they took it easy on her but he couldn't. Some of those throws were way worse than anything the other keepers had to stop.

Ginny soon landed and re-joined the reserve players who were looking at her in awe. The quidditch team were all conversing, Ron glared at his sister who innocently stared back at him. Soon the team came over.

"Alright" Angelina looked at the bored and read the names out, first she started with the beaters then moved on to the chasers "and our final reserve chaser is Ginny Weasley"

"Ahem" Harry and Ginny coughed

"Sorry, Ginny Potter" Angelina continued, she then moved on to the keepers, she gave Ron a quick triumphant look before addressing the reserves "and our new keeper is none other than..."

"Dramatic pause" The twins whispered

"Ginny Potter" Angelina smiled

"She got it right that time" Fred commented

"That's bull!" Ron exclaimed "no way in hell is Ginny better than me, it was probably her broom, I bet Potter enchanted it"

"Oh yeah?" Harry raised an eyebrow "I'd love to see you prove it, go ahead, cast the charm on the broom to check. Do you know the charm or do I have to go call Hermione to do it for you?"

"Ouch" George whispered. Ron grumbled but didn't say anything, it was clear that he didn't know the charm.

"Oh for Merlin's sake" Angelina cast a few spells on the broom "there are only the standard charms on the broom, the only spell that wasn't part of the broom was a cleaning spell. If he used a spell then it would show up"

"So you're saying Ron got angry and said something without thinking?" Harry acted surprised "who would've guessed?" The twins snickered behind him

"Shut up Potter!" Ron spat

"Aren't you creative?" Harry smiled "now listen Weasley, I did not cheat and neither did Ginny. She's just good, she's been stealing your broomsticks and practising since she was six. We spent the summer practising and improving her flying, now that's ten points for being disturbing students and ten points for being rude to a prefect. Be glad I don't take more away for being a prat"

"You can't do that!" Ron shouted

"Ten points for being a prat" Harry responded "each prefect has a limit on the amount of points they can take from rival houses but they're allowed to take an infinite amount of points from their own house. Now are you going to continue costing Gryffindor it's hard earned points or are you going to use one of those brain cells you probably stole from Hermione and leave?"

Ron was about to say something but was shut off by the collective cheering of everyone else, he stormed off, still able to hear everyone cheering Harry and booing him. He got back to the changing room and got changed, he left faster than lightning. The other reserves came in later to find a broom that was snapped in half.

Ron made his way to the common room, the only person he could find was Hermione who was sat in a chair reading a book. Ron walked over, kicking everything out of his way before he plopped down on the seat opposite her and crossed his arms.

"What happened?" Hermione asked as she turned away from her book

"Potter!" Ron spoke with disgust "I went to try out for keeper, then the next thing I know is Ginny got the position and the reserve chaser position! I know Potter did something to her broom! There's no way she could fly as good as me"

"Did you ask them to check her broom?"

"Yeah! Angelina did but she said that there was nothing wrong with it!"

"Alright calm down" Hermione spoke soothingly "getting worked up won't do you any good. To be fair, I've been wondering something as well. Umbridge is all for the ministry and proving Dumbledore is lying, right?" Ron nodded his head

"Well then where does Harry stand?" Hermione continued "he never openly said that Dumbledore was lying but he never agreed with him either, yet he still takes time to annoy Umbridge"

"So? What does this have to do with quidditch?"

"Ron" Hermione sighed "I think Harry is up to something. I mean first there was all that stuff he did in his first three years, remember we discussed that. In his fourth year he gets entered in to the tri-wizard cup and he makes the entire tasks look like nothing! He also befriends the other champions as well, gets married to Ginny without anyone knowing, goes into the graveyard and comes out after defeating you-know-who and now he isn't telling people"

"What's your point?" Ron had calmed down a bit

"My point is that there is more going on here than just quidditch" With that Hermione returned to her book.

The days passed by, Umbridge or 'Umbitch' as Ginny dubbed her had been pranked nearly every day, everyone knew that Harry and Ginny were responsible, sadly for Umbridge there was no proof. As much as Umbridge wanted to accuse Harry, he behaved like a model student and seemed to be anti-Dumbledore so she couldn't do much. Harry had gone out as Curse a couple of times, and his vigilante side was becoming very famous. All in all things were good, soon came the time of the first quidditch match of the year.

"Alright guys" Angelina addressed the team before they head out "are we all ready?"

"No" George called out "what about the pre-match speech?"

"Ah yes dear brother" Fred nodded "it's Ginny's first match, she deserves to hear one just like we did"

"I agree, now the question is whose turn it is?"

"Well I did it last time"

"And I did it the time before that"

"So that must mean"

"It's Harrys turn" Everyone stared at Harry who could only smile at the twins, Harry stood tall and proud.

"Everyone" He spoke in a loud voice, the team looked at him with anticipation "destroy everyone not in red but don't die!"

"Inspirational" Ginny mock wiped a tear

"Thank you dear" Harry replied, a sigh from Angelina and everyone was off.

Soon everyone came flying out, once the match started the Slytherin team had immediately tried to score, only to be stopped by Ginny who effortlessly blocked their attempt. Harry by that point had seen the snitch, but kept to his usual strategy of letting the others play first. Harry was half paying attention as he was mentally speaking to Ginny.

' _How is your first game going?_ '

' _It's pretty brilliant. I mean it feels weird to play in front of all these people but I'm enjoying it_ '

' _I'm glad, oh, heads up. Quaffle coming!_ '

' _Thanks, I had barley caught that_ '

' _Not a problem Gin, at least you're having more fun than me, I'm stuck up here with Malfoy_ '

' _Malfoy?_ ' Ginny raised an eyebrow

' _Malfoy is using the old 'watch the other seeker and see if he can see the snitch then try and steal it from him' tactic. You'd have thought that after three years of playing quidditch against me he would realize it doesn't work. Though to be fair, his furious face is currently giving me life._ '

' _What do you mean?_ '

' _He's a bit annoyed at the fact that I'm not doing much' Ginny suppressed a laugh 'and what's worse is the fact that he hasn't realized he could have tried looking for the snitch himself. He's a complete idiot, I believe that he is what the purebloods refer to as a 'disgrace'._ '

' _What do you refer to him as?_ ' Ginny mentally asked as she blocked another shot

' _A complete and utter fuck up_ ' Was Harrys reply ' _Oh, Angelina gave me the signal. I'm going to go and get the snitch, talk later_ '

A minute later the match had been won and Malfoy, after failing to catch Harry, had landed in the teachers stand on Umbridge, needless to say Harry was pleased. He was even more pleased when he and Ginny decided to have a post-match celebration together.

Malfoy and Umbridge were both sent to the hospital wing, unfortunately for Harry they would both survive and be out the next day. Unfortunately for the two, Malfoy had got detention and cost Slytherin house a lot of points. 

The most eventful thing happened a few days after, when Harry and Ginny had gotten a letter to meet Astoria at Hogsmead, the two did so and found themselves in a corner of the Hogshead bar. Astoria walked in, but what was surprising was she was followed by Cedric.

"What's going on?" Harry asked as the two sat down, Harry placed some silencing and privacy charms around after he saw the look on their faces, their looks were very serious and instantly told him about how the meeting is going to be like.

"Harry" Cedric let out a deep breath "I don't know how to tell you this, but I need your help."

"What with?" Harry replied

"My sister" Cedric looked at Harry with sleep deprived eyes, he handed Harry a piece of paper which had the image and name of a young man with black hair, he looked a lot like the young Tom Riddle but not as handsome "there's a problem. This guy, his name is Jonathon Vipe, him and all of his family are big supporters of you-know-who.

He only recently got out of Azkaban, apparently one of his ancestors had made a pact with one of mine, saying that they could demand one thing from us. He demanded to marry my sister!"

"He what?!" Harry and Ginny exclaimed

"It's true" Cedric rubbed his eyes "Megan doesn't want to marry him either, but according to him he's the last of his house and he needs an heir."

"That's awful" Harry looked at the picture and was disgusted.

"Harry" Cedric continued "she can't get married to him. He's a death eater! And a pretty bad one at that, Megan, Megan is upset. I'm scared Harry, I'm scared that she's going to kill herself or run away. I know what you can do, I know your Curse. Harry, I'm begging you! Please help her…"

"Cedric" Harry interrupted "I would have helped her even if it wasn't you who was asking. Do you know where he is?" Cedric shook his head "alright, give me a week and I should be able to find him. I hope you don't mind if I do things in a non-legal way."

"Just help my sister!" Cedric pleaded

"Cedric" Ginny placed a hand on the older boys shoulder "Harry is going to help out, he's just letting you know that he isn't going to be nice in the way he does it. We just want to know if you'd be alright giving Harry free reign?"

"I can live with that" Cedric replied "Harry the guy went to Azkaban for rape and everyone knows that he only got out thanks to bribery, that's not the kind of person I want Megan to marry and definitely not the kind Megan wants to marry."

"Ok" Harry nodded "give me a week, I'll owl you if it will take longer but I'll have him for you."

"Thank you!" Cedric sighed in relief "I have to go now, I'll owl you later" With that the former Hufflepuff left and Harry and Ginny turned to Astoria who looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Harry" She spoke quietly, which worried Harry and Ginny as usually the girl was full of energy "could…could you come to my house? There's something…something….happened to Daphne" Without further words Harry grabbed Ginny and Astoria and the three vanished, only to reappear in the Greengrass mansion.

"So what happened?" Ginny asked

"Harry" Tears dripped from down Astoria's eyes "Daphne, she was…s…she was raped!"

"WHAT?!" Harry roared, unaware of the fact that in his anger he had exploded several things nearby "WHEN?! BY WHO?!"

"I don't know!" Astoria began openly crying, Ginny hugged the poor girl. The two didn't know what to say "she was allowed to leave Hogwarts for a night to visit us then she came back with all of her clothes ripped! Mum had to be put on a dreamless sleep potion and a calming draught because she was too upset to do anything else! Father left to the ministry and is demanding action!"

"Alright" Harrys expression hardened "Ginny you take care of Astoria, I'm going upstairs to see Daphne."

"Wait, Harry, she's upset!" Astoria objected

"I know" Harry put on a determined expression "and to be honest I have no idea with how to deal with this, what happened to her is horrible and she'll probably need you a lot more. But if I have a way to make the memories easier and find the bastard who did this! Just trust me, please." Astoria sniffed and thought for a while.

She thought about her sister, how she had always put on a cold mask and was named 'Ice queen' because of it. She thought about how she didn't use that mask with Harry, she thought about how Harry and her sister had become brother and sister. It was clear Daphne trusted him, and from what she saw, Daphne needed all the help she could get.

"Fine" Astoria managed to get out "but hurt my sister and I'll hex you myself"

"Thanks" Harry nodded before heading upstairs, he made his way over to Daphne's room.

He slowly opened the door, and the sight that greeted him was Daphne curled up against the headrest of her bead with her knees tucked to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. Daphne's hair was not controlled like usual, her eyes were red, she didn't even attempt to use her ice queen persona, she looked as if she was putting all her will into not crying.

"Hey Daphne" Harry spoke softly as he closed the door, he noticed Daphne backed away a little bit and the fear in her eyes. Harry decided to walk slowly, he didn't want to startle her and as an added gesture he kept his hands up "Daphne, it's me Harry. Remember? Lion brother? The golden idiot? Or one of those other thirty nick names you came up with?" Daphne still looked a bit worried with each step he took.

"Listen Daphne, I don't know what to say. Ginny's better at this stuff then I am, emotions and feelings are stuff I was never good at. I don't want to say the wrong thing and hurt you but I'm going to try okay. I know pain Daphne, I know suffering but my experiences aren't the same as yours. I'm not going to give you that everything will be fine bull that everyone else has probably given you, I know you don't want to hear that. But I'm going to tell you what you need to hear" Harry stopped by her bed, and slowly sat down. Daphne looked like she wanted to apparate a way.

"Daphne you are a strong person, but you're not alone. Astoria, your mother, your father, Ginny and me, we're all here for you. We won't abandon you, we'd never abandon you, and I know your strong enough to get through this. I don't know how to make you feel better, I really don't Daphne, I'm out of my depth here and I'm sorry for that. The only thing I can do is stop the bastard that did this from doing this to anyone else." Daphne sniffled a little, her teary blue eyes were firmly on Harry's green emerald ones.

"I'm your brother Daphne, you're my sister, we're family. I promise you, I promise you that I will do my best to protect you from now on. I'm going to make him suffer Daphne, I'll make him pay. He's going to regret the day he decided to hurt you! They're all going to regret the pain and death they liked to spread, I'm going to make them pay. Every single one of them! I'll do it so you and your sister can live in peace with your family. No matter what happens, me and Ginny are here for you"

The two sat in silence, neither willing to look away from each other, Harry felt like Daphne was trying to look into his soul. Like she was trying to work out if he was honest or a threat, but he didn't look away, he couldn't look away. He had to be strong.

"H…H…Harry" Daphne spoke after five minutes of silence "I'm scared. I don't want to be, but I'm scared"

"There's nothing wrong with that Daphne" Harry slowly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her "it's alright to be scared Daphne, everyone is scared at some point. You're strong but I don't think even you can get over this that quickly, but I promise that your family will be here to help you through it."

Daphne looked like she wanted to say something but found out she couldn't, she no longer tried to block the tears. She let them flow out, she hugged Harry back. Crying out into his shoulder, the tears dripped down his shirt but he didn't move.

Ginny who was comforting Astoria, decided to take a look at what Harry was doing. She looked into his mind, and saw the scene that was occurring. Harry was holding Daphne as she cried herself out on his shoulder, Ginny couldn't help but feel sad, in her eyes Daphne was always the cool pretty and funny girl. Seeing her like this broke Ginny's heart. She backed out, deciding to give Daphne her privacy.

"Daphne" Harry spoke once her tears had started to slow down "I'm sorry to make you think about this, but it's best if we do it now before he has the chance to do it again."

"What?" Daphne slowly let go "what are you talking about?"

"The guy that did this to you" Daphne flinched "I'm going to find him, then I'm going to kill him. Do you know who he is?"

"No" Daphne closed her eyes and shook her head "all…I know…was he had a dark mark"

"Daphne do you know what a pensive is?"

"N…no"

"It's a really rare magical device that can allow people to view memories"

"So?" Daphne raised her head slightly

"I know you won't want to do it" Harry conjured a vial "but hear me out, if you refuse then I'll respect your decision. If you want to, then I'd like you to give me a memory. The memory of what happened"

"Why?" Daphne asked in a quiet voice "I trust you Harry but why?"

"If you let me view the memory then I can see the person who did this and track them down. Plus there's the benefit of what will happen to you"

"Me?"

"Yeah, taking out a memory can help, apparently it eases the mind or relives some of the feelings or something like that. Long story short it will help you if I take out the memory it will ease some of the feelings in your mind. If you let me do this then I promise you that I will leave the memory as soon as possible, I'll see the guy then quickly stop looking and give it back to you. I'll make sure nobody else sees it, not even Ginny, I'll block off our connection for a bit so she can't see."

"Are you sure about this?" Daphne wiped away her tears

"Yeah Daphne" Harry nodded "I just need to see who did it, that way I can find him."

"Okay' Daphne coughed "okay Harry, I trust you."

"Thanks Daphne, Dobby" The elf popped in "can you and Stink get my pensive please"

' _Ginny_ ' Harry telepathically called ' _I'm going to shut my mind off from yours temporarily okay_ '

' _Okay Harry, but what's going on?_ '

' _Daphne is letting me view her memory of what happened so I can work out who did this, I told her I'd show nobody else, that includes you. Sorry_ '

' _That's fine, just…kill that bastard_ '

' _That's the plan, oh the pensive is here, I got to go_ '

Dobby and Stink left, Harry slowly and gently placed his wand on Daphne's forehead. After removing her memory and putting it in a vial, he gave her one more hug before placing it in the pensive. Harry took a breath and dived in, true to his word he immediately left after he saw the persons face. In all honesty he didn't want to stay there any longer than he had to do so.

"Well?" Daphne asked in an anxious voice "do you know who he is?"

"Yeah" Harry sighed "he's a distant relative of the Malfoy family, he's name is Warius. Fortunately I already was tracking him down"

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, him and the other death eaters were making trouble so I had planned to pay them a visit. In all honesty I was tracking someone else but I know that Warius is with him. Tomorrow morning you'll be reading about how his body was found in the great hall"

"The great hall?" Daphne asked "why are you going to take his body to the school?"

"It's a message" Harry simply replied "the students will start taking me seriously, as will the ministry and Dumbledore. Plus when the death eaters realize I could kill one of their own and sneak in and out of Hogwarts while they can't then they are going to be running scared. I promised you Daphne, I'd make every single one of them pay."

"I'm not going to read about it" Daphne spoke in a determined voice "I'm going to school tomorrow and I want to see it up front"

"Daphne you…"

"Harry please!" Daphne interrupted "I know you want to protect me but I need to see it! Please Harry, please!"

"Fine" Harry rubbed his eyes "but I should warn you, it's not going to be a pretty sight"

"I hope so" Daphne replied 

Soon Harry and Ginny left, they just managed to get back to the common room by curfew. Fortunately today wasn't their turn to do the prefect rounds as they were definitely not in the mood for it, and they were definitely not in the mood for the two people they met in the common room.

"Your late" Hermione pointed out as she and Ron looked to the two.

"Yeah by one minute, go ahead and sue us" Ginny retorted, it took every piece of will power she possessed to not hex Hermione there and then.

"But you're still late" Hermione argued, the rest of the common room watched. Normally they enjoyed seeing the four interact as it was very entertaining, but even they could tell that Harry and Ginny weren't in the mood. Unfortunately Ron and Hermione couldn't "as prefects you should be setting a better example"

"Look Hermione" Ginny responded in a strong voice as she brought out her wand and pointed it at the bushy haired nuisance "me and Harry have had a rough day, a really rough day! We are in no mood to listen to a jealous, hypocritical idiot! Annoy me one more time then you will find yourself clinging to life at the St Mungo's hospital, consequences be dammed!" Hermione took a step back.

"Hey!" Ron interrupted "you can't…"

"Ron!" Now it was Harrys turn "like Ginny said, we are not in the mood. You've got a choice right now, you can either chose to be quiet or you can have fun knowing that I will use your vital organs to decorate the common room. At this point I really don't care which" Hermione and Ron backed away as Harry and Ginny stormed past them and up to their rooms.

"Idiots" Seamus muttered

"Don't be so nice" Dean did the same

Once Harry and Ginny got to their rooms, Harry apparated to Ginny and apparated the both of them to their own private room. For appearance's sake they were both sleeping in the Gryffindor tower, they had decided to keep their room a secret, for now at least.

"Harry" Ginny spoke quietly "happy hunting"

"I don't know about happy" Harry replied "but I can promise successful"

Harry reached his hands behind his head and pretended to put a hood over his head. His clothes transformed, he was now wearing black combat boots and trousers, his knife holster appeared on his legs, then the black shirt and finally came the black robes. The hooded robe left a shadow over his face, so nobody could see it. Ginny was right in front of him and she still couldn't see it, frankly if she didn't know it was Harry she would be very scared. Harry popped away and the hunt began.

Warius was currently enjoying himself, he was at a bar and got free everything. Probably because he threatened the owner but still, he looked around the bar and smiled happily. Being surrounded by his fellow death eaters and having wine in one hand and a woman in the other made him very happy. Truthfully he liked them a bit younger, like that blonde girl he had yesterday. She was good, screamed too much at first but still.

A knock was heard at the door.

"I bet you all that it's smithy" Warius joked "stupid bastard is always late"

The knock was heard once more

"Will one of you get the damn door?!" Warius roared

"Why don't you do it?" One of the death eaters responded

"I've got a woman on my lap" Warius replied "it'd be mean to force her to move, now go on and get the damn door."

The knock was heard for a third time.

"Alright!" One of the death eaters called as he walked towards the door "we're coming you prat" The death eater laid his hand on the handle, he opened the door.

"Well?" Warius asked "who is it?" The death eater didn't respond, in fact he fell backwards and was now on the floor. Everyone looked at him and to their horror they found a knife was in his chest, someone entered the bar. He had a matching knife in one hand, and a wand in the other, his face was covered by the shadows from his hood and he reminded many there of a dementor. He tapped the door with his wand, and closed it.

"Bloody hell!" Warius pushed the woman off, she landed on the floor but he didn't really care. He drew his wand and pointed at the imposing figure "you're that Curse guy"

"Yes" Curse replied with a demonic voice "I am Curse, and you're all cursed to die."

"Look smart guy" One of the death eaters scoffed "you're out matched, one of you verses all of us? You'd lose" That death eater was going to say more but was interrupted by the knife that was now in his throat, coincidentally Curse now had a hand without a knife. As that death eater fell, a few others tried to escape but figured out they couldn't.

"Don't bother" Curse spoke in an amused voice "I've warded this place, the only way you're getting out of here is if I let you"

"Well how about I make you? Imperio!" Warius smiled as the spell struck Curse "let us out then kill yourself" He demanded.

Curse raised his wand in the air, but instead of doing as he told he fired a cutting curse at Warius, hitting him right in the leg. Warius screamed and fell back, the other death eaters had taken that moment to remember that they outnumbered him. They aimed their wands at him, Curse quickly twisted his wrist and a smoke flew out of his wand, covering him.

It only took two seconds for him to disappear under the smoke, the death eaters fired at the smoke with the hopes they would hit something. But the smoke still came, soon the entire room was covered in smoke.

Warius sat down as he was unable to stand, he searched frantically for his wand. But he couldn't find it, the constant screams from his fellow death eaters were good motivation to try. But he couldn't find it, so he adopted the pray for the best option and crawled forwards. Hoping he could make it to the door, when he was halfway he realized something was on his face. He wiped it with his hand, it was blood, the scary part was that it wasn't his.

He crawled and crawled and by some miracle he managed to make it to the door, he tried to open it but it just wouldn't open. He prayed and punched and tried even harder, he even yanked the handle out and it still wouldn't open, that was when he realized something was different. His vision was improving, as the smoke was clearing up, the screams had stopped as well.

"Warius" A familiar voice called "where are you going?"

"Look" Warius turned slowly to find Curse standing in front of him "you've killed them all, let me go, please I won't tell anyone!"

"I do need someone alive to let people know what I've done" Curse replied

"Exactly!" Warius began nodding frantically

"That person is him" Curse pointed to the death eater that was tied up to a chair on the right side of the room "you however, are why I came here"

"ME?!" Warius shouted "but I didn't do anything! I'm innocent! Innocent I tell you" Warius was about to say more when Curse grabbed him by the neck and tossed him across the room, Warius slammed off a wall before falling back to the ground.

"You raped a girl yesterday" Curse spoke slowly "she wasn't your first was she? You've raped others"

"I didn't!" Warius denied, he screamed in pain when Curse fired another cutting curse at his other leg. Curse slowly walked towards, Warius looked up at the man standing in front of him and realized that at that moment he fucked up.

Curse looked into his mind, Warius had no defenses; he saw all Warius had done. Stealing, raping, murdering and torturing countless innocent people, if it wasn't for the shadows covering his face then Curse would have showed Warius a look of complete disgust and anger.

"Don't lie to me" Curse demanded

"Please!" Warius begged "it wasn't my fault" A reducto curse hit him in left shoulder, and a metal spike pierced through his right.

"I had told you not to lie"

"O…okay!" Warius sobbed "I did it! I did it! I raped that girl and I liked it! So go on then, send me to Azkaban!"

"I'm not sending you to Azkaban" Curse calmly replied "the dementors will not feed on you, you are my prey and mine alone. I will kill you"

"Please!" Warius made to say something but then Curse aimed his wand at Warius's leg, a red bullet shaped light shot out from it and flew straight through his leg. Warius could only scream for a few seconds before he was hit in the chest with anther spell.

"What did you do?" Warius asked, afraid of the answer

"That was a spell that acts the same as giving you adrenaline, I trust that you can feel your heart rate increasing. This will help you hold out a bit longer" Curse raised his hand before slamming his wand straight into the hole in Warius's leg, Warius yelped out in pain as the wand was now halfway inside his leg.

"Crucio" Curse whispered, Warius's screams could be heard all the way from Hogwarts. "I've never used an unforgivable from inside a person" Curse spoke while Warius continued to scream "it's not so nice when you're the one in pain is it?"

Warius kept thrashing and screaming, throughout all the pain the only thing he could see was the shadowed face in front of him. He passed out from the pain a minute later, Curse woke him up, then started the process again, around the fourth time Curse had removed his wand from Warius's leg.

"Warius" Curse spoke softly, as softly as he could with that demonic voice of his. "You've hurt countless people, you deserve what I'm giving to you, don't you agree?"

By this point, Warius was numb, all he could feel was the pain. All he could see from his blurry eyes was Curse, the faceless monster in front of him scared him more than the dark lord ever did. Everything hurt, he didn't even notice that he was nodding his head, by the time he had realized he was too tired to say anything.

"I thought so" Curse stood up, he wandlessly cast a cleaning charm on his wand to get rid of the blood. "This is kinder than you deserve but I don't want to stay in your company any longer than I have to. Don't worry, after I've finished with you I'll send some more of your friends down to greet you"

Curse aimed his wand at the middle of Warius's forehead, one red light and he was soon dead. Curse removed the wards, he dragged the lifeless body of Warius out and sent a distress signal in to the air so the aurors could come. He vanished long before they came.

Dolores Umbridge and the rest of the students were surprised when they found out that the doors to the great hall wouldn't open, Umbridge and a few others tried multiple spells to open it but the doors wouldn't budge. Soon Dumbledore came and even he couldn't get through, he looked around and was surprised to see Harry and Ginny looking very confused. 'Strange' He thought, he was sure that Harry was the one responsible. Eventually the door opened, everyone barged in and shock set in.

Hanging from a ceiling thanks to a very long rope was the dead, cut and and battered body of Warius, a few screams were heard and that's when people noticed that somebody else was also in the hall. Sitting in the headmasters chair, was the vigilante known as Curse, he sat with his feet on the table, he leaned back in the chair as if he owned the place.

"Hello" He addressed his audience "shit just got real"


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29 – Curse against Dumbledore

All eyes widened as they saw the saw the dreaded Curse sitting in the headmasters chair and some even puked at the sight of the body hanging from the ceiling. Dumbledore eyed up the relaxed vigilante, his magical power was strong. Even more so than Harry Potters, he had heard many rumours about the man, some even debated if he was human.

"Students" Curse spoke "leave, you can skip breakfast for the day"

Curse looked at the horrified students, when a few in particular caught his eye. Ginny Weasley stood by his alter ego, both looking at him with a knowing smirk. He'd return it if it wasn't for the fact that his face was covered. Neville and the twins had joined the McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick in being incredibly confused, seeing the smile on Ginny and Harrys face did comfort them somewhat. At this point he noticed Daphne, she stood by Ginny, her eyes watered. So many emotions passed over her face before a smile possessed her face.

"Alright" Harry called "everyone out. Let's leave the vigilante alone so he can do his job"

"Mr Potter?" Dumbledore asked

"That son of a bitch" Harry pointed at the hanging body "is a piece of shit who rapes people for fun and if someone wants to take action against him, then they have my support"

"Thank you Mr Potter" Curse smiled, not that anyone could see it "take the students away with you, me and the adults are going to talk"

"You don't scare me" Draco shouted "you're nothing but a peasant who…" What Draco was about to say next would be unknown as a blast from Curse hit him and he was transformed into a ferret, he made a weird noise that was probably a squeak or whatever noises ferrets make and ran out of the hall.

"You heard the man" Harry addressed the crowd "let's go" Harry and the majority of the students ran out of the hall to their own common rooms, except for Ginny, Daphne and Harry who had found themselves in an abandoned classroom.

"Nice job" Ginny turned to Harry "the real Harry was impressed, he'll probably tell you himself"

"Thanks" Harry responded before slowly changing shape, his body shrunk until he was Ginny's height, his hair turned yellow and grew in length. His eyes morphed from green to blue as his face changed. Two seconds later, Harry was replaced by a smiling Astoria Greengrass.

"Harry was right" Astoria hugged Ginny "Polyjuice tastes horrible, but how did he know it does?"

"Oh we got bored one day during our first year" Ginny began explaining after the hug finished "Harry brewed the Polyjuice potion and turned himself into Ron, we stole some Slytherin robes and we had Harry dress up in them and then we took pictures and sent them to mum. Needless to say she was furious" All three girls laughed for a while before Astoria and Ginny turned to Daphne.

"How are you feeling?" Ginny asked

"Weird" Was Daphne's reply "I'm still a bit…I don't know the word, but I still have negative feelings. But seeing that made me feel so much better, I'm not exactly over it but this helped. I'm worried about Harry to be honest, I noticed that Dumbledore stayed in the hall along with Umbridge."

"Ha" Ginny waved an arm "don't worry about Harry, now come on, we need to get back, I'm sure Harry will show you what happened later in his pensive."

In the hall Curse was as relaxed as a cucumber, he analysed the room, Umbridge was here but she was about as threatening to him as Draco was. He saw Flitwick, McGonagall and Sprout, they clearly had to play along. He'd do his best not to hurt them, Slughorn had run off with the other students. Not that he cared, that was just one less problem, then he laid his eyes on Dumbledore.

"The dreaded Curse I presume" Dumbledore raised his wand "you are trespassing on Hogwarts grounds"

"Funny" Curse replied "you are trespassing in the world of the living, ask me to leave and I'll ask the same of you"

"Enough of this!" Umbridge snapped "I am Dolores Umbridge! Senior secretory to the Minister of Magic and High inquisitor of Hogwarts"

"And I am sure you parents are proud" Curse sarcastically responded, McGonagall's lips turned upwards slightly before she straightened them "listen to me you pink coloured hag, your titles mean nothing to me."

"How dare you?" Umbridge screamed, she was about to say more when a blast from Curse struck her, she flew back and hit the wall outside the hall.

Dumbledore was in shock, the only reason he didn't stop the blast was because it was a simple stunner and he thought it would be beneficial to keep Umbridge out of this but his blast had the power of at least ten stunners. Sprout, Flitwick and McGonagall rushed to her.

"She's alive" Flitwick announced, in a rather disappointed tone. Before the teachers could say anything, the doors closed, leaving the teachers outside the great hall.

"Oh well" McGonagall shrugged "that's that, I guess I should call the aurors, would one of you take her to the hospital wing?" McGonagall walked away, Professor Sprout was about to say anything when she realised that Flitwick had bolted in the opposite direction and had already left.

"Shit" She looked down at the unconscious body of Umbridge "ah well, could be worse, she could be conscious"

Albus Dumbledore did his best to not look at the dead death eater and instead looked at Curse who had gotten up and was now standing on the head table. He didn't like the way Curse was looking down at him.

"Why did you do this?" Dumbledore gestured to the dead body

"To make a point" Curse replied "no death eater is safe, not when I'm around. Your students have realised that, they saw that body and they saw reality. Not the illusion you've created, the illusion where everything will be fine and nobody will get hurt."

"You didn't need to kill him" Dumbledore responded "he was an evil man, but still a man"

"What would you have had me do with him?"

"Send him to Azkaban, give him time to think about his crimes. Let him redeem and repent his action"

"And let others suffer when he does not" Curse countered "some people are beyond redemption Dumbledore."

"Not everyone believes that"

"Potter does" Curse replied "I've heard tales of his strength, perhaps I should recruit him to my cause"

"You will stay away from Potter!" Dumbledore ordered, he was a bit worried. Harry had similar views to Curse and he couldn't let Harry join up with him.

"Why?" Curse asked in an almost innocent voice "you've sentenced him to a life of hell at the hands of muggles all because Voldermort decided to kill him and his parents that night."

"Harry is needed for the light side" Dumbledore gritted his teeth

"Light side?" Curse chuckled "your light is a joke, you capture criminals but do nothing to insure they stop hurting others. Azkaban no longer works, the death eaters have broken out of there"

"If we kill it makes us no better than Voldermort" Dumbledore argued "it makes you no better than Voldermort"

"I disagree" Curse jumped down from the table "I take lives to save others, he does it because he can."

"You would make a great asset to the light side" Dumbledore replied "you have skill and power, you'd be most valuable. With you and Harry, we could end the war"

"The war will be ended but it will be my way that ends it"

"What way is that?"

"Me looking into Voldermorts eyes as death claims his soul" Curse answered

"I can't let you do that" Dumbledore said firmly

"I can't let you stop me" Curse quickly replied

Dumbledore sent a stunner at Curse who dodged before sending his own, Dumbledore dodged and sent another stunner. Curse batted it away with his wand before he sent a cutting curse at Dumbledore. Dumbledore barley ducked in time, he used the disarming spell. Just before it hit him, Curse threw his wand in the air, the spell had hit his hand but as his wand was not there, nothing flew out.

Dumbledore had to admit it was a unique and inventive move but he was busy being surprised at the fact that his spell didn't even push Curse back. He saw the wand falling back down, he was about to summon it when he saw Curse aiming his hand at him. Curse sent a stunner from his hand and Albus barley managed to get a shield up in time, Curses wand landed in his hand and he threw another cutting curse.

Dumbledore rolled out of the way, when a blast of fire flew at him, Dumbledore blocked it and was immediately greeted by another and one after that. Curse was firing rapidly with impressive speed, Albus barley managed to send a stunner at him while avoiding his tenth fire blast. Curse casually flicked it away.

"I must confess" Curse said "I am rather disappointed. No wonder the light side fails"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dumbledore shot another stunner

"It means that you're foolish" Curse ducked "if you believe that you can beat me simply with stunners and disarming, then you are guaranteed to lose"

"Incendio" Dumbledore bellowed, a massive burst of fire shot from his wand. Curse raised his own and countered with a giant jet of water.

"Aren't you adorable?" Curse joked.

Dumbledore prepared to send another spell but Curse beat him to it, he fired a dark spell at him. Dumbledore saw the spell, he recognised the shape and colour of it. If this spell hit him it would make his eyelashes go inward so every time he blinked his eyes would be poked by his lashes. While it may not sound deadly to some it could seriously damage his eyes so he quickly stepped out of the way.

The two traded spells for another five minutes, by that point all the windows were broken and the head table was smashed into pieces while one of the walls had a massive scorch mark, Dumbledore decided to keep using non harmful spells while Curse used pretty much anything except the unforgivables. Dumbledore was realising that he had to take it up a notch, he turned one of the plates into an owl and sent it at Curse. Hopefully the owl would have distracted him enough for Dumbledore to land a spell. However Curse had immediately transformed a plate into an eagle and the two birds met in mid-air.

The eagle quickly got the upper hand and after dispatching the owl he flew straight at Dumbledore, Dumbledore got rid of the meddlesome bird when he was struck in the nose. He stepped back to see the thing that hit him was a goblet, ignoring his displeasure at the wasted pumpkin juice that was spilling from it, he saw Curse had magically sent another which Dumbledore had swatted away.

Curse then magically raised ten plates, with a flick of his wand they flew straight at Dumbledore with a speed that would make the previously present bird very jealous. Albus dodged half of them but was hit in the shoulder and knees, one had struck him in his face and left him with a cut under his left eye.

"Impressive" Dumbledore complimented "it's clear to me that you don't need those dark spells to do well in a duel."

"You're a fool to believe that spells are simply divided into light and dark" Curse raised his wand into the air the fired a reducto curse at the ceiling, part of it broke off. Dumbledore apparated out of the way, greatly thanking the benefits of being headmaster.

"That was a simple reducto curse" Curse pointed out "even with that I could kill you, magic should not be divided into light and dark. What it does, how evil it is, is dependent on the intent of the user."

"I implore you" Dumbledore aimed his wand at Curse "see reason, all of this mindless killing, it needs to stop. Join the light side, help us combat the evils of this world"

"I am combating the evils of this world"

"No" Dumbledore replied "you are simply believing that you are. We cannot fall to the depths of the death eaters, to kill makes us as bad as them. Please, join the order"

"And do what? Simply stun and tie up my enemies?"

"They all deserve a second chance" Dumbledore insisted "everyone can be redeemed"

"So incredibly naïve" Curse sighed "not everyone deserves a second chance, the only ones who do are those who strive to earn it. Those who regret their actions, the people who I hunt, they don't deserve the chances you give out so freely. Only in death do they truly regret their actions"

"This is not the way"

"Yes it is" Curse smiled underneath his shadowy mask "just not your way. You have a choice, let me stop the filth from ruining the wizarding world or stop me because you disagree with my methods. I'd recommend the first, you had better stay out of my way from now on."

Dumbledore had heard enough, he tried to read Curses mind, it was a bit difficult because he couldn't see his eyes but he was positive he could do it. However he didn't even get to see Curses mind, he couldn't get in, was that hood blocking him?

Curse seemed to notice Dumbledore's confusion, he picked up one of the plates in his hand, he raised his hand and threw the metal plate at the floor, however the side of the plate hit the floor and ricocheted up and caught Dumbledore off guard. The plate crashed in-between his legs and Dumbledore fell over with a pained face.

Before Dumbledore could say anything, twelve aurors burst into the hall, followed by the three head of houses. All had aimed their wands at Curse.

"Curse" The main auror spoke "you are charged with multiple curses of…"

"Assault, torture and murder" Curse interrupted "that's what you were going to say right? Unfortunately for you all I have no intention of going to Azkaban, at least not yet, maybe in the near future"

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked in a slightly higher pitch than usual

"All those prisoners in Azkaban" Curse raised his head "all perfect targets for me, I will be sure to visit one day. But not now, I could go but escaping will just waste a lot of time."

"Surrender now" Dumbledore commanded but lost the effect as he was on the floor and had a slightly high pitch voice "if you do then I shall insure a fair trial"

"Just like you did for Sirius Black?" Curse countered "The man who spent years in Azkaban because you couldn't get him a trial or like the Lestranges who should have been executed on the spot or perhaps some of the numerous other scum you've allowed to live?

Face it, those aurors, they'd much rather work for me. They'd love the ability to deal with a death eater once and be done with it. Because you are so insistent in sending them to Azkaban, a prison they've already broken out of, those aurors have to constantly risk their lives to try and bring them back." Dumbledore was about to say something but heard the murmurs from the aurors behind him.

"Every single one of them" Curse spoke slowly "I will end every single one of them"

"Please" Dumbledore replied as he slowly got to his feet "surrender peacefully"

Curse slipped his wand back into his holster, he raised his hands, everyone else took a step closer as they believed he was putting his hands behind his head. But he didn't, just before he touched his head he opened both of his hands. A bright light burst from his hands and temporarily blinded everyone, they opened their eyes a second later and saw that he had gone.

"That's impossible!" Dumbledore screamed

"I'm too old for this shit" One of the aurors sighed

The aurors and Dumbledore eventually discussed what happened, by lunch time the hall was repaired. Lessons were cancelled for the day, Harry after his escape took Ginny and the Greengrass sisters to an unused classroom and put some privacy charms around the room before he showed them two memories in a pensive. One was of Curse torturing and killing Warius, the other was of Curses battle with Dumbledore.

Ginny beamed at Harry with pride, Astoria for the first time in her life was quiet. She was simply too stunned to say anything else. Everyone turned to Daphne, a variety of emotions flew across her face. Slowly tears shed down the girls tears and she wrapped Harry in a tight hug, Harry gently returned it.

Astoria was so happy at the relationship between Harry and Daphne. Admittedly it was a bit disappointing that they hadn't adopted a romantic relationship, Harry would make a great brother-in-law. But she was also happy at how close the two could be, Ginny didn't seem to mind the closeness between the two plus Harry and Daphne were definitely not big fans of cheating. Not like Harry could do it with his soul bond anyway.

Daphne was in no way over the incident, she always seemed to be against the idea of marrying a rich pureblood just so she can live comfortably. The constant marriage contracts had helped convince her that most boys were idiots, her last boyfriend cheating on her didn't help either. But Astoria was glad she trusted Harry, Daphne seemed to be cautious of all males now, other than her father she refused to let any other male touch her, even the male healer that tried to look over her.

Eventually they each returned to their own common rooms after Harry and Ginny escorted the sisters to theirs, Harry and Ginny returned to their own.

"Harry, Ginny" Neville saw the two come in and the rest of the room looked at them "where were you two?"

"We were with the Greengrass sisters" Harry replied

"What were you doing with those snakes?" Ron asked

"That's a personal matter Ron" Ginny replied "and we'd appreciate it if you grew up and get over this stupid house rivalry and stop insulting our friends."

"Ginny, Ron is just concerned" Hermione interrupted "after what happened in the hall you should of returned straight back to the common room"

"Well we helped the Greengrass sisters get to their common rooms then we came back here" Harry replied "we were perfectly safe"

"Safe?!" Hermione blurted out in disbelief "Harry, Curse was here! In the castle!"

"Yeah but as far as I'm aware I don't have the dark mark and neither does Ginny" Harry replied "and we were far enough away from the hall so we were fine"

"Harry it was still dangerous!" Hermione was making Harry hope his mother was nothing like her "besides you can't trust a vigilante who kills people not to hurt you"

"I like to live dangerously" Harry shrugged

"What was that in the hall anyway?" Ron asked "why were you supporting Curse?"

"Because I agree with him" Harry replied "the death eaters aren't repenting, if they can't live peacefully then they should be put down"

"But Harry!" Hermione replied "killing is wrong!"

"Yeah but who is more evil? Someone who does evil things for the sake of evil, or someone who does evil things for the sake of others?"

"Harry he's a criminal!" Hermione reminded him, even though he already knew "he's dangerous! Thankfully Professor Dumbledore would have stopped him by now"

"How do you know Professor Dumbledore has stopped him?" Ginny asked

"Of course he stopped him!" Ron shouted "he's Dumbledore! The greatest wizard of all time!"

"He's not invincible though" Harry pointed out

"And he's not in his prime anymore" Ginny added

"He's not getting any younger"

"Dumbledore refuses to use any spell that could be considered"

"Grey or dark"

"Plus Curse must be decently strong"

"If he's going after death eaters on his own"

"And is confident enough to"

"Come into Hogwarts on his own"

"Now listen" Fred interrupted

"You two might be so in love that you've actually become one person" George continued

"But we invented"

"Finishing each other's"

"Sentences!" The two twins stood, shook each other's hands and stormed off in mock anger.

"I bloody love those two" Harry chuckled. The door opened and Professor McGonagall entered.

"I have come here to inform you all that the hall is being repaired as we speak." McGonagall addressed the common room

"Professor" Ron raised a hand "what's going to happen to Curse?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I mean it's obvious Dumbledore beat him, so what happened?"

"I regret to tell you this" In reality she loved telling them this, she only regretted not being allowed to enjoy it publically "but Dumbledore was not successful"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked in an alarmed voice

"Well me and the other heads were outside of the hall and the door closed, when I came back a small while later with the aurors we found the hall was destroyed and Dumbledore was laid down on the floor"

"He killed the headmaster?!" Ron's jaw dropped

"No" McGonagall shook her head "the headmaster is not dead Mr Weasley, I can assure you that he is definitely alive and you will likely see him tomorrow or later this week"

"What happened?"

"Professor Dumbledore was very much awake and alive when I came back but he was however hurt and has been sent to the hospital wing and that is all I'm saying on that particular subject, thank you Mr Weasley. I would like to inform you all lessons today are cancelled and the house elves will bring food up here at dinner and lunch. Professor Umbridge was also injured by the vigilante and will not be physically capable of teaching for at least a week and possibly a month. That is all for now" McGonagall sighed and left

"Cancelled lessons?" Harry raised an eyebrow "No Umbridge?"

"Thanks to Curse" Ginny gave him a small smile "I could kiss him"

"Sorry but you'll have to settle with me" Harry joked "but still, no Umbridge for a while and he turned Malfoy into a ferret, he's definitely an order of Merlin candidate."

"First class for sure" Ginny agreed.

"This isn't funny!" Hermione spoke in a loud voice "I can't believe you two are making jokes about this, a man was hanging from the great hall!"

"Yeah but he was a raping murderer" Harry argued "sorry but my pity well is empty"

"How do you even know he was a 'raping murderer'?"

"His godfather is an auror you know" Ginny reminded Hermione "besides I agree with Harry, if he thinks that he can do whatever the hell he wants without repercussions then he is not the sort of person that should be let free"

"You're not the only one" Neville commented

"But why would he put the body here?" Hermione asked

"I don't know" Harry shrugged "you can ask him if they ever manage to catch him, now if you'll excuse me and Ginny, we're going out"

"You can't leave!" Hermione shouted

"Why not?" Ginny asked "Curse has clearly escaped and nobody said we couldn't leave the common room"

"But it's dangerous!"

"So are we" Ginny wrapped her arm around Harrys and the two left

"Wait where are you going?" Ron shouted

"I'm going to shag your sister!" Harry called back just before the two got out of the portrait hole.

Ron turned red and immediately chased after them, no sooner than he got outside he saw that they were nowhere to be seen. He cursed in frustration and went back in"

"Language Ronald!" Hermione scolded him.

"Whatever" Ron mumbled and went up to his room, Hermione picked up her own and left to her room. The whole room was left in collective silence.

"It's never boring in here is it?" Neville eventually broke the silence

"Nope" Dean shook his head

"I still can't believe that Malfoy got turned into a ferret" Seamus smiled "oh how I'd love to see pictures of that" Stink popped into the room and handed everyone pictures of exactly that before popping out.

"I bloody love that elf" Neville chuckled

Harry and Ginny made their way to the room of requirement and Harry immediately pulled his two-way mirror out of his pocket and enlarged it.

"Hi Sirius" Harry greeted Sirius

"Hey Harry" Sirius replied "what's going on?"

"Are you alone?" Ginny asked

"Yes, I'm in my room, why?"

"Put some privacy charms around the room and we'll tell you"

"Fine" Sirius placed the charms before looking back at Harry "now my irritating godson, would you and your better half kindly mind telling me what's going on?" And Harry and Ginny did just that, informing him of Warius and Daphne.

"I'm glad you killed him" Sirius growled "I would've done it myself"

"Yeah so back to the hall" Harry continued telling the story "Malfoy starts mouthing off so I transformed him into a ferret"

"What?!" Sirius burst out laughing

"It's true" Ginny smiled "we'll send you a pensive memory"

"Then Astoria" Harry continued "my polyjuiced lookalike, tells everyone to leave and after a bit of shouting at Dumbledore everyone does. Then Umbridge starts shouting at me and I blasted her out of the great hall, she'll live sadly but she's injured and will be out of our hair for at least a week or more hopefully a month."

"I'll tell Remus about that" Sirius grinned "you should have transformed her into a toad in my opinion"

"Would it have made a difference?" Harry raised an eyebrow

"Probably not" Sirius conceded

"Anyway, I manage to get the other teachers out then it's me and Dumbledore. We duel and he constantly tries to convince me that the way I'm going about it is wrong and I should join the light side"

"Of course he did" Sirius was not surprised "it's no secret that Curse is powerful and if he joined the order he'd be a valuable asset and Dumbledore would look good while gaining another pawn"

"Tell him about the end of the duel" Ginny said excitedly

"End of the duel?" Sirius raised an eyebrow

"Well" Harry blushed "Dumbledore tried to read my mind, but my hood kept him out, while he was realising that I took a plate. I threw it at an angle and it bounced off the floor and struck Dumbledore…between his legs."

Sirius had had enough, he burst out laughing and actually fell to the floor, he was useless for the next five minutes because he couldn't stop.

"Oh" Sirius wiped a tear away "by the way, Dumbledore is still assigning the order members to the department of mysteries but he won't tell anyone what they're guarding."

"Bloody old codger" Harry sighed "never mind, my elves are keeping watch as well so they'll notify me if anything happens."

"Smart boy" Sirius smiled "anyway I got to go, I have a date"

"That's nice" Ginny spoke "what is her name?"

"I…I don't know" Sirius admitted "it starts with an A I think, never mind, I'll ask Kreatcher. Before I go, Remus is currently out on a date with Nymphodora (don't call me that)Tonks and there has only been the one meeting since you left and that was just discussing the guard times for the department of mysteries. They made a list of the times, I'll have Kreatcher send it to you. Bye guys!"

"Sirius seems to be having fun" Harry commented once the mirror turned off

"Why don't we?" Ginny suggested as the room turned into a bedroom "I don't think anyone will interrupt us?" Harry leaned down and kissed Ginny.

"Someone had better be dying if they did" Stink popped into the room, looking panicked and scared.

"Arthur Wesley is dying!" The elf screamed

"Fuck!" Harry shouted. He made the motion of pulling his hood over his head and was now turned back to Curse. Without a word he disappeared, leaving a very worried Ginny.

The next day Harry and Ginny were called into the headmasters office, McGonagall was there along with Mrs Weasley. The headmaster had technically just called Ginny but naturally Harry was going to come as well and everyone knew better than to question it.

"Good morning" Dumbledore greeted the two

"Hello Professor" They greeted

"Miss Weasley" Dumbledore started

"Mrs Potter" Ginny corrected him.

"Mrs Potter" Dumbledore amended "it saddens me to inform you that last night your father was attacked at the ministry."

"What?!" Ginny burst out, in reality she knew what happened because Harry had told her but she still had to pretend to be ignorant.

"Worry not" Dumbledore spoke in a calming voice "he has been badly injured but he will recover shortly"

"What happened to him?" Harry asked

"He was attacked whilst guarding something for the order"

"What was it?" Ginny asked

"I apologise but I cannot tell you" Dumbledore replied

"Why not?" Harry responded "if her father was attacked over it I think she has a right to know."

"It is classified information Harry"

"What are you? The government?" Ginny retorted

"Don't be rude Ginny!" Molly shouted

"Rude?!" Ginny shouted back "dad could have been killed but you're going at me for wanting to know what he was nearly killed for?"

"Mrs Potter" McGonagall spoke up "your father was rescued by the vigilante known as Curse"

"Now Minerva" Dumbledore interrupted "is it really necessary to inform them of that?"

"Yes Albus" The stern witch replied "if anyone has a right to know it's those two" McGonagall turned back to Harry and Ginny "if you two wish I can accompany you both to visit him"

"Thank you Professor" Ginny nodded, the Potters and McGonagall took some floo powder and left through the fire place.

Albus was left all on his own, wondering many things, how on earth did Curse get into Hogwarts? Is Harry falling from the light side? Is Ginny doing so as well? Why didn't Harry's scar give him a vision and tell him what Voldermort was planning? Is Curse going to recruit Harry? How did Curse know to save Arthur? Did Curse know about the prophecy? Who is Curse?

The questions flooded into his brain and he was infuriated to know he did not know the answers, there was only two thing that Albus learned that day. The first is he knew less than he had liked, the second was he would from now on place protective charms on his undergarments. It still bloody hurts!


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30 – DA

Harry and Ginny sat in Sirius's house on Christmas day with Sirius, Remus, Hermione and the Weasleys, except for Percy, Charlie and Bill. They were all currently sat in the kitchen, with the Weasleys all crowding around Arthur who had seen better days. He was bandaged and bruised and Harry was very sympathetic for him, Arthur despite being a bit whipped and poor was a very kind man.

"Well done Harry" Sirius whispered "I'm proud of you"

"Me too" Ginny kissed him and Harry didn't hesitate to kiss her back. It was only a short kiss but Ron saw it and without fail he began shouting.

"Oi! Would you two keep your hands off each other?!"

"Sure" Harry smiled "we can kiss without our hands"

"For goodness sakes Ron!" Ginny exclaimed "it's Christmas and our father is alive yet all you can think to do is shout at me and my husband for having a small kiss! Get over yourself, just because nobody wants to kiss you doesn't give you the right to interfere in my life."

"Ginny don't be rude!" Hermione ordered

"Was I talking to you Granger?!" Ginny narrowed her eyes

"Ginny!" Her mother prepared to scold her when Kreatcher popped into the room, he eyed her with anticipation and Molly deflated a little.

"Mom" Ginny turned to her mother "you don't see me shouting at you when you and dad kiss so what right does Ron have to do it to me?"

"Kid makes a good point" Sirius agreed "now this is Christmas so why don't we start handing out presents?"

"An excellent idea" Arthur definitely agreed, he did not want to participate in a fight, he agreed with Ginny but knew that no matter who he sided with the other side would give him an earful.

Everyone started handing out the presents, Hermione mostly got books. Ron mostly got food and clothes, the same for the twins. Harry and Ginny received broom kits, books, pranks and some food. Soon it was Harry and Ginny's turn to give out presents.

"Alright this is for you" Harry handed a box to Arthur, he opened it and his eyes gleamed. "they're muggle toy" Harry explained "it's a collection of historical figures, Romans, pirates and soldiers and such."

"Thank you!" Arthur smiled

"Not a problem dad" Ginny then handed the twins a couple of boxes "pranks from America and Germany, we figured you could see how our fellow countries do it. The red box is muggle pranks from America, the yellow is non muggle while the blue is muggle German pranks and the pink is magical"

"We thank you sister" The two wasted no time in ripping into the boxes.

"Remus this is for you" Harry handed Remus a box and a note, he opened the box and found a nice pair of robes. He then looked at the note and found it was a receipt.

"What is this for?" He asked

"A year's supply of Wolfsbane" Harry explained "luckily it was cheaper than last time because Snape agreed to make it for you so all I had to do is buy the ingredients. The potion will be delivered here around twelve tomorrow"

"Th…Thank you Harry" Remus was close to tears

"It was no problem" Harry assured him

"I can't believe it" Sirius spoke "we'll have to send Snape a thank you note, oh well, now what did you get me?"

"Nothing much…just this" Harry handed Sirius a pair of tickets, Sirius read the tickets and his eyes widened.

"These are VIP tickets to the Puddlemere and Holy Harpies game"

"Yep" Ginny nodded "we figured you could take Remus or whoever you're currently dating"

"And I've brought you some new robes as well. I've had Kreatcher put them in your room" Harry replied "that reminds me, Kreatcher!"

"Yes master" The house elf approached

"We got you a couple of things" Harry smiled at him "first we have some chocolates, I know you like them, and a brand new pillowcase to replace your old one. It's getting a bit dirty and as the main house elf to the noble house of black, we can't have that. And don't worry, this pillow case is not us freeing you, you're still stuck with us."

Kreatcher took the chocolates, and the new pillow case, the house elf soon found himself in tears. Not even his former mistress and master was this kind to him, Sirius had even began treating him kindly since the boy arrived. At first he was a bit shocked when he was handed the pillow case, he was close to begging when he was reassured by his second master. Kreatcher looked at the pillow case like it was his new best friend, slowly he wiped the tears away, he couldn't cry on his new present.

"How could you?!" Hermione demanded after obviously misunderstanding Kreatchers crying

"Uh Hermione" Remus spoke quietly

"Why did you that?" She continued, ignoring Remus who had attempted to stop her

"Do what?" Harry was genuinely confused

"The chocolates were nice but why did you give him that pillow case?"

"Because his old one was old and dirty" Harry said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world

"Look at the poor elf, he's crying!" Hermione pointed at Kreatcher "you got his hopes up, he could have been free but you made him cry when you told him he wasn't!"

"Quiet!" Kreatcher demanded, silencing the bushy haired girl "you will not talk this way to master Harry"

"Oh I know" Hermione lit up as an idea came to her, she took the Weasley jumper "you can take this jumper and be free"

"NO!" Kreatcher jumped back in horror, he ran to Ginny and Harry dropped to his knees in-between them and grabbed hold of both of them. "Please! Master! Mistress! Do not free Kreatcher! Kreatcher is a good elf! Kreatcher will…"

"Kreatcher" Ginny cut Kreatcher off "we have no intention of freeing you" Kreatcher lit up and hugged the two as hard as he could.

"But…but why?" Hermione really couldn't understand what was going on

"Are you that thick Granger?" Harry turned on her "I've lost count of the amount of times you've been told that house elves like to work! Why don't you just get over it?"

"Because it's wrong!" Hermione responded "forcing them to work without pay!"

"Does Kreatcher look forced to you?!" Ginny took over "he was literally begging us to not free him? Elves were made to work, we have no delusions that some wizards treat them horribly but that doesn't meant that all of us do. As for pay, like we said a thousand times before, they don't want it!"

"Pay Kreatcher?" Kreatcher spat "Kreatcher not so lowly a house elf that he need paying."

"Hermione" Sirius interrupted "it's clear that Kreatcher is perfectly happy with the way things are so you are going to leave it at that"

"Thank you master" Kreatcher bowed to Sirius, who felt a bit weird knowing that before meeting Harry he would have gladly gave the elf clothes and got rid of him but now he has, admittedly, become rather fond of him.

"Don't worry Kreatcher" Sirius replied "any other presents Harry? Ginny?"

"Yes there is" Ginny smiled, she whispered something in Harrys ear. Nobody heard what she said but the way Harry was straightening up and smiling told them a lot, the shiver that went down his body also helped.

"Okay!" Harry said happily, it was a little louder than he intended but he continued "this is for you Gin" Harry enlarged a box from his pocket and Ginny quickly opened it, she gasped when she saw it.

"That's a Firebolt" Ron breathed

"Good to know his vision is still working" Harry commented

"For me?!" Ginny asked, Harry gave her a look that said 'do you really have to ask' before she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly

"Am I to understand that you like it?" Harry joked once she finished

"Love it!" Ginny picked up the broom

"I'm sorry Harry" Mrs Weasley interrupted "but there is no way that I'm allowing Ginny to have that"

"Funny" Harry narrowed his eyes "you make it sound like it's up to you to decide what she does"

"Harry I've heard how fast that broom is, it's dangerous" She argued

"Mrs Weasley Ginny is the best female flyer in her year" Harry argued back "in fact she was so good that she got the position of keeper, reserve chaser and reserve seeker. The other chasers have also trained her, she can easily handle it. It might take her a few minutes to get used to it but other than that it's not really a problem"

"But it isn't lady like"

"Some of us don't care about being 'lady like'" Ginny spat out the last the words like it was a curse "I love quidditch, and I love flying."

"Why does she get a broom like that?" Ron asked

"Because her husband can afford it" Harry replied "don't worry Ron, I'm sure one day you'll find a girl rich enough to give you presents. Of course the trouble will be finding one that likes you without the influence of a love potion"

"What about us?" Hermione cut off Ron's angry reply

"The same applies" Harry shrugged

"No I meant what did you get us?"

"Oh…well I didn't get you anything" Harry admitted

"Why not?!"

"Didn't know you were coming" Harry replied "as for Ron I couldn't think of anything to get him apart from food and at the rate he keeps eating he'll be lucky if he can see his toes by the time he's forty so I decided against that."

All of a sudden footsteps were heard from the hallway and Albus Dumbledore walked in. Sirius and Remus were furious at him turning up but they kept their emotions to themselves and plastered a neutral face.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Molly greeted him cheerfully "how wonderful to see you, sit down and have a cup of tea" It took every fibre of Sirius's control to not remind Molly that it was his house and tell Dumbledore to get lost.

"I appreciate the offer Molly" Dumbledore replied "but I was wondering if I could talk to young Harry in private"

"Fine" Harry sighed, he knew better then to argue. He could delay it as much as possible but he wanted to get the old man out. Ginny nodded as he stood up, Harry knew she would be listening and she knew that he knew, he also knew that she knew that he knew. She also knew that he knew that she knew that he knew. He also...

' _Oh for goodness sake, forget the bloody loop and go_ ' She mentally shouted ' _hurry up, I want to know what the old codger wants_ '

Harry mentally smiled before accompanying Dumbledore to an empty room. Dumbledore prepared to take the single chair but Harry had beaten him to it, Dumbledore eyed him and he knew what he was implying. And he was right, Harry took the seat to signify that he was the bigger man here, Dumbledore sat on the sofa and faced him.

"Harry" He began "I would like to ask you something"

"Obviously" Harry nodded

"I would like to know" Dumbledore ignored his comment "why you supported Curse?"

"Supported?" Harry raised an eyebrow "if memory serves me right then I never battled against you"

"But you did publically agree with him" Dumbledore argued

"Yes I did" Harry replied "if you're wondering why I did, it is because that man deserved what he got."

"How could you say that?" Dumbledore asked with a hint of worry in his voice

"With my mouth" Harry cheekily replied "I'm sorry sir but I have no sympathy for the man, did you know that he raped a friend of mine? If he someone wanted to kill him then I have no interest in stopping them"

"Harry that is not the way"

"No sir, it is an 'opinion'" Harry emphasised the last word "besides, I don't know why you're going at me for. Am I the one who's going out and killing death eaters? I bet have of your order agree with him."

"We can continue this particular discussion another time" A tired Dumbledore replied

"I have no doubt that you will make sure of it" Harry responded

"Harry" Dumbledore ignored his comment once more "now that Voldermort is back I would like to teach you occlumency" Dumbledore had originally planned on Snape doing this but he couldn't use him anymore and he couldn't use another expert in case they realised what was in Harrys head.

"Why?" Harry asked, he knew why but wanted to hear the answer.

"Have you been getting pains in your scar Harry?"

"Why?" Harry repeated

"I believe it is the work of Voldermort, it is my belief that he has a mental connection with you and occlumency can help you stop him from accessing your mind"

"Sorry sir…but I don't want or need to take occlumency lessons from you"

"But Harry…" Dumbledore was terrified

"As it stands I am more than sufficient in occlumency, you should know when I kicked you out of Ginny's head" Dumbledore paled at the memory "besides my scar doesn't hurt"

"Harry I insist you take those lessons" Dumbledore responded, believing that Harry was lying, after all there was no way that the great Albus Dumbledore could be wrong.

"And I insist that you drop the matter" Harry gave Dumbledore a victorious look "after all teaching anything related to the mind arts to will take up a lot of time and won't the ministry be curious as to why? And if they question me I might just let slip that you looked into Ginny's mind that one time, I'm pretty sure that's illegal and knowing the way the minister is right now I'm sure you'd be off to Azkaban without a trial"

Dumbledore trembled with rage, not only was his offer rejected but he was basically threatened with being arrested by a teenager. It seemed that no matter what he would do, Harry would have a counter to it.

"That is your final decision?" Dumbledore maintained a calm voice

"Yep" Was Harry's reply "if you'll excuse me, I forgot something upstairs, I'm sure you'll be gone by the time I come back down." Harry stood and quickly left, laughing internally at his victory.

Albus stood up, he placed a silencing charm around the room before he destroyed the furniture in a fit of rage, soon he calmed himself down and magically repaired it. He activated his grandfatherly look before returning back to the kitchen, he smiled at everyone when he noticed that Harry wasn't here. He looked to Ginny, who looked back at him. Everyone was distracted by the twins who were making a commotion at the other side of the room, he quickly looked into her mind.

When he looked in he was amazed, her defences had improved immensely, no doubt Harry was teaching her. In front of him was a huge mansion, surrounded by large gates and various house elves circling the perimeter. He saw dragons flying above the mansion along with Griffins and Hippogriffs, he knew that there was no way he could subtly get through without her knowing.

A cough was heard, Dumbledore looked around frantically, he couldn't see where it came from. He felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned around and in front of him was a smirking Harry Potter. The weird thing was he had his right leg pulled back as if he was going to kick a football. He quickly pushed his leg forward and his body back, the result was a foot straight between Dumbledore's legs.

Dumbledore had been pushed out of Ginny's mind, he was on the floor of the kitchen with his hands trying to alleviate some of the pain, he couldn't say anything but he couldn't stop himself from letting out a squeak in pain. He saw Ginny looking at him with a smug expression as Mrs Weasley helped him up. Harry chose that moment to enter the room.

"Alright professor?" Harry asked in an amused voice "do you need to go to the hospital?"

"I'm fine" Dumbledore coughed, it took him a few seconds but he stood up straight and waved away Mrs Weasleys concerns. He was still in pain but no way was he going to let Harry know that. "I was just leaving"

"Allow me to escort you out" Harry walked into the hallway and Dumbledore followed him to the door. As Dumbledore stepped out he looked to the amused Harry

"By the way Professor" Harry spoke "punish or tell on me and I'll tell on you" With that he closed the door on the Professor and walked back into the kitchen.

"What did he want?" Hermione asked

"Lemon drops" Harry shrugged

"Stop joking, what did he want?"

"Nunna" Harry replied

"Nunna?" Sirius asked

"Nunna her business" Ginny replied "now come on Harry let's go"

"You sure you have to go?" Sirius asked

"Oh yeah" Harry replied happily before he went away in the green flames of the fire place

"He's a bit excited about unwrapping his present" Ginny winked.

"What present?" Ron asked, Ginny sighed and wondered for the thousandth time if Ron had been dropped on his head as a child

"Me you dolt" Ginny replied before leaving

"Her?" Ron didn't understand

"Ron" Fred spoke first

"What our darling sister meant" George continued

"Was she was Harrys present"

"And he was going to unwrap her" Ron paled as he finally understood. Sirius and Remus snickered and Arthur hid a smile at Ron's face, Hermione's blushing and Molly's disapproving look.

A little while later the holidays were over and everyone returned to Hogwarts. At the trains station Harry saw Narcissa Malfoy talking with Draco, she looked at Harrys direction. Harry decided to have a little fun and winked at her, she blushed slightly before looking away, a fact that Draco did not fail to notice. Ginny and Harry found their own compartment as usual and they were enjoying themselves when Draco Malfoy opened their door.

"Oi Potter"

"Hello ferret" Harry smiled, Malfoy shivered a little at the memory

"Shut your mouth Potter"

"Or what?" Harry gave him an amused look "you going to tell your father on me? Or are you going to threaten me with your master? Not a good idea because as the head the most ancient and noble house of Potter I outrank your father on everything from the school board to social status. As for your master do you think he'd be happy with you advertising his existence?" Draco was about to reply but realised that Potter was right.

"You had better watch your back" Was all he could think of.

"I would but your mothers is much more interesting" Harry retorted, Ginny did her best to hide her amusement but was failing.

"What?!" Malfoy stopped as he was about to walk away

"The 'I'll tell my father' excuse won't work so well if I was your father, would it Malfoy?"

"You stay away from my mother!" Draco aimed his wand at Harry

"Malfoy! Shame on you!" Harry said in mocking voice "disrespecting your future father like that, I'll have to cut your pocket money" Draco was Weasley red and furious.

"To be honest" Harry continued "I'm very tempted just on the basis that your mother is a milf."

"A milf?" Draco was confused, still angry but very confused.

Harry sighed before using his wand to spell out the meaning in the air. By that point Draco was shaking with rage, he was about to hex Potter but then he heard the other prefects making their way up. He looked back to see Potter and Potter with their wands pointed at him, he slammed the door before walking away.

"What did Malfoy want?" Hermione asked as she came up to the door

"Nothing much" Ginny shrugged "now how can me and my husband help you?"

"Alright" Hermione sighed, it seemed as if she was preparing herself to talk "you two know that Umbridge isn't teaching us properly? I mean we're not learning defence and we're not learning how to pass our owls!"

"Yes" Harry nodded "lord forbid Hermione Granger from not passing an exam, even though she always comes very close in the practical portion."

"As I was saying" Hermione gritted her teeth "we need a new teacher"

"Take it up with Dumbledore or the ministry then" Ginny replied

"I was wondering if you could teach everyone Harry" Hermione spoke with a strong determination

"It appears as though Ron's been having an effect on her" Harry said to Ginny

"Yes" Ginny agreed "maybe Ron's been leaching off some of her brain so he can still maintain his own basic brain functions"

"I'm serious" Hermione said seriously "look we need to prepare and Harry you are the best defence student, you're miles ahead of everyone else"

"True" Harry conceded "I am ahead of you all but I don't get how that translates into me teaching you all"

"Umbridge won't let any of the other teachers teach us. Harry you could really do some good here"

"Yeah but why would I want to do it?" Harry asked "Me and Ginny don't benefit from this in anyway"

"Harry!" Hermione looked shocked and scared "you'd really leave us all defenceless just because it doesn't help you"

"Oh, of course not, because I really care" Harry said sarcastically "the twins are fine, I've already taught them a few offensive and defensive spells in the past. The same with Neville, and Ginny is absolutely brilliant so I don't have to worry about that."

"what about the other?" Harry was about to reply but then he considered her words for a moment

"True actually, I've become rather fond of a lot of them."

"Thank you Harry!" Hermione screamed with happiness "I knew you'd make the right choice. Hermione left and practically skipped down the hall.

"So…" Ginny turned to Harry "you think Draco's mother is attractive?"

"I think a lot of people are attractive" Harry wasn't going to rise to her teasing "but of course, none more than you."

"Right answer" Ginny whispered before she climbed onto his lap

"Hey" Ron chose that moment to burst in "do you two ever stop?"

"Not willingly" Harry replied

"I want to know something" Ron turned red with anger "have you and my sister been shagging?"

"Every single day" Harry immediately responded "the first time we did it was on our wedding and day and needless to say, it's become quite addictive. I'd try and explain it to you but seeing as you haven't even kissed a girl yet, I'm not going to bother."

"Hey!" Ron was about to protest when Ginny cut him off

"Mom doesn't count"

"Now Ron" Harry laughed "we're going back to snogging now, so if you'll excuse us"

"No! I won't excuse you. You can't shag my sister!"

"Why not?" Harry asked "we're physically capable, we're of legal age in the wizarding world and we're both married and willing. In fact, Ginny do you want to do it right now?"

"Well we've got five hours until we get to school, so yeah" Ginny replied and Harry immediately raised his wand and the door shut nearly hitting Ron's face.

The blinds went down, Ron tried to open the door but he couldn't open it. He shoved his shoulder against it, pulled the handle, and even tried to break the glass. He got his wand and fired as many spells as he could remember, it wasn't working but he was too stubborn to give up. Five hours later the train stopped. An out of breath Ron had collapsed on the floor, he was so tired he could barley open his eyes.

"Hey Ron" Harry and Ginny greeted as they came out, both with messed up hair and lose clothing, which combined with their red faces quickly led Ron to believe that Harry and Ginny weren't lying when they said they would do it. "That was the best train ride I've ever had"

"Likewise" Ginny commented "now if you'll excuse us brother, we'd like to go back"

The two walked off, leaving a fuming but exhausted Ron on the train. Fortunately for him Hermione had helped him get off the train, unfortunately he immediately lost points for showing up without his uniform which he forgot to put on.

a week or so passed before Hermione had sent him a letter telling him to meet in the Hogs head bar in Hogsmead. Harry and Ginny did and were greeted with at least thirty students, including the twins, Luna, Neville and the Greengrass sisters.

"I think we all know why we're here" Hermione started "we need a teacher, a real teacher to teach us defence. Harry?" Harry sighed before standing up, he saw Ron scowling from a corner and Hermione's hopeful look.

"Alright you little shits" Harry addressed the crowd, Hermione's jaw dropped "not you Luna, you're an angel and we're thrilled to have you"

"Thank you Harry" The pale girl beamed

"You're welcome, any nargles bothering you?"

"Not anymore" Luna dreamily replied

"Lovely"

"Harry" Hermione interrupted their conversation

"Oh right" Harry turned to the crowd once more "basically what's happening now is Hermione and Ron are convinced that Voldemort is back because the headmaster says so" The crowd shivered at the name "that's why they want you all here so I can teach you defence, although, if we're being honest we all know that Hermione just wants good grades"

"That's not true!"

"Either way I never told you that Dumbledore was right and Voldemort came back, I never told Dumbledore that Voldemort came back, so I don't know where they got this ridiculous idea from."

"Harry!" Hermione shouted, Harry smirked at her and gave her a little wink. She growled before rushing out of the bar, Ron did the same.

"Oh good" Harry sighed "I thought they'd never leave" He immediately cast a silencing ward around everyone.

"What are you doing?" Neville asked

"Making sure we're not interrupted" Ginny answered on his behalf, Harry finished his ward then began talking.

"I'm sorry to tell you all this but Granger and Dumbledore were right, Voldemort is back."

"Then why didn't you tell anyone?" One Hufflepuff asked "and why have you been denying it?"

"Fair questions" Harry admitted "first of all I never denied it, I just didn't admit it." The Slytherin's and Ravenclaws nodded their heads in understanding "second of all I didn't tell anyone because it was pointless.

The minister is too scared to believe that he is back and is slandering anyone who says so, I mean look at what he's doing to Dumbledore. You think I want to go through that just so I could convince the grand total of zero people that he is really back."

"Isn't that a bit dramatic?" One Ravenclaw asked

"Is it?" Harry raised an eye brow "tell me the truth, if I had told you all at the start then what would happen? My friends would believe me only because they're my friends and the rest of you would want proof wouldn't you? And if I couldn't provide it then you'd call me crazy and/or a liar wouldn't you?" The Ravenclaw was about to argue but realised he couldn't because Harry was right.

"Even if I swore on my magic in front of the entire ministry" Harry continued "the minister would still find some way to make me out as an attention seeking brat."

"So" Neville spoke up "he's really back?"

"Yes" Harry spoke firmly "so that's why I wanted to get Granger and he pet out of here before I discuss this defence group"

"I don't get it" Astoria raised her hand "I mean sure they're annoying but why not have them here?"

"They'd tell Dumbledore" Harry answered "and I can't have that"

"Why not?" Astoria asked

"Let's just say I have disagreements with the headmaster" Harry responded "one of them being I disagree with how he plans to bind and stun every single person he comes against. That might work for some people but definitely not death eaters, besides I have another reason. At the end of this year, I'm going to reveal a secret of mine. A very special one"

"Harry!" Daphne's eyes widened as did Astoria's, Neville and the Twins soon followed as they also got the meaning "you don't mean…that secret? The one that helped me?"

"That exact one" Harry nodded slowly "listen guys, I can't tell you the secret, not yet at least but when I reveal it the whole wizarding world will know. And some of you may judge me…in fact you will judge me, I just want you to know that any who don't know will be very shocked."

"No kidding" Daphne whispered

"But" Harry continued "I'd like you all to trust me, when I tell everyone my secret I will look crazy, I will look evil and people will accuse me of being the next dark lord."

"Is it really that bad?" One voice asked

"No" Ginny spoke up "it's not, in fact I think it's brilliant but others won't. More specifically Voldemort and Dumbledore"

"Why those two?" A different voice asked

"Dumbledore because it would go against his stupid code and his ineffective methods and Voldemort because it could stop him"

"Are you serious?" The Hufflepuff asked with a sceptical tone

"Yes" Harry said with a determination that was catching "when you all hear my secret then you will realise what I mean, you'll think I'm crazy and evil and I will have to act crazy and evil but I assure you that I am not.

This world, this world stinks, it stinks and we're right in the middle of it. I can't get the smell out of my nose and the headmaster isn't doing enough to get rid of it. I have a way to do that, the good news is I don't even need your help for it."

"Then why are you planning on teaching us?" A young Gryffindor asked

"Another good question" Harry admitted "I don't have to teach you, in fact I don't even need to tell you all anything. But admittedly, I'd rather not have your deaths on my conscious when I could have helped. Plus Hogwarts is my family and I'd like for at least a part of it to know that I am doing what I do for a reason and know that I'm not the next dark lord, after Voldy is dead I plan to have a nice and quiet life. Maybe play quidditch or stay at home and let Ginny do that while I cook, the point is I'm asking you guys to trust me"

"Harry" Daphne spoke "why don't you want Dumbledore to know?"

"Because he'd disapprove, not the group itself but he'd disapprove what I'm going teach you"

"What are you going to teach us?" Astoria asked

"Well first of all I need to make sure you all know the basics like stunning and disarming and all that, then if you do, I will teach you some stuff with stronger results."

"Stronger results?" Neville raised an eyebrow

"I'm not teaching you dark arts" Harry clarified "a lot of you probably haven't read up on this but if you use dark arts then you can develop a dependency for using them. It means you can't last long without using them or you'd be in physical pain, it happens to a lot of death eaters, it damages their mental state. Take a sane person and give them dark art dependency then they could become as bad as half of those in Azkaban.

It would be alright if you did the proper research and learnt how to use the spells without damaging your own mental state but I'm not going to risk teaching you it out of the chance you could all become the next generations death eaters. I will however teach you different ways to utilise what you currently know or what I call grey magic."

"What do you mean?" Fred asked

"Okay" Harry replied "for example, during my duel with Voldemort I sent some bats at him, I then transformed their wings into spiky metal ones that ended up cutting him and gave me the same result as multiple cutting hexes. Even the simple spells, banish a knife at an opponent or throw them off a cliff with a levitating charm. I will be showing you all how to use everything you know more effectively and efficiently.

I will also be teaching you spells that aren't illegal but they are dangerous and some are even frowned upon, but personally I think that if you're getting attacked by a death eater then everyone else can keep their bloody opinions to themselves and you do what you need to do to survive."

After some more talking, Harry and everyone agreed, Harry made everyone agree and soon they all began taking lessons in the room of requirement and agreed on a name for the group. At first they wanted to be Potters Army but Harry politely declined, eventually they settled with defence association or 'DA'.

Over time they began to recruit more people, including Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott from Slytherin, Theodore wanted to convince Harry that he was nothing like he's death eater father. He was very surprised when Harry promised he wouldn't judge him and he'd do his best to stop overs from doing so. Someone asked if they could invite Cho but Ginny immediately shot down that idea.

Each and every member of the group signed a magically binding contract saying they couldn't talk about the group to anyone without Harrys permission, so Harry wasn't worried about people telling on him. At least not from the group.

They regularly met in the room of requirement, Stink had sent everyone messages of when to meet up until Harry had developed a watch that could be used to message the other DA members with the time. The watches were a stroke of genius as only Harrys watch could send the messages and nobody could use Harrys watch except Harry.

The first few lessons started with everyone getting to know the basics, one person complained about learning the disarming curse and emphasised it was useless. At least he did until Harry used it on him and he went flying half way across the room.

Everyone began improving, learning the basic spells and the patronus spell as well, soon he even taught some more deadly spells and how to use their current spells to seriously harm or injure. Everybody who attended loved Harrys classes, they found him to be a combination of Flitwick and McGonagall, strict when necessary but fair and fun the rest of the time. Ginny helped him teach as well and she was pretty much the same, Harry was having fun as well.

He never knew he'd like teaching, he enjoyed teaching Ginny because she was Ginny but he never knew he'd like teaching a big group. Harry was planning on revealing his identity at some point, so he was glad that he'd have some support when he did. With that being said Harry did the best thing he could think of to obtain friendship and make everyone happy at the same time.

He conjured some dummies and made them look like Umbridge before he told everyone to let lose.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31 – Reveal

Harry and Ginny sat in the common rooms, everyone else had gone off to see the Hufflepuff VS Ravenclaw match. Harry was comfortable sitting in an armchair whilst Ginny sat on his lap and read a muggle book. Thanks to their connection, Harry was also reading it through Ginny's eyes, she thought it wasn't too bad but Harry made it clear that he didn't like it but he read along with her in the hopes that it got better, he was very disappointed when she finished it and it didn't.

"May I?" Harry asked as he took the book from Ginny

"Be my guest" She replied, knowing exactly what he wanted to do. Harry tossed the book into the fireplace and had a villainous smile when the book burnt.

"Die devil book!" Harry spoke dramatically "may you never again sully our minds or waste our time"

"Dramatic" Ginny smiled

"I learnt from the best" Harry replied "so, how do you think the DA is going?"

"Brilliant, I mean it was a bit slow at first but you're a great teacher and they're all a lot stronger. By the way, when are we getting rid of Umbridge? Those blood quills she's been using on people should be good enough"

"Soon" Harry answered "I've got everyone preparing statements, I plan to do it around the same time I reveal my secret"

"You sure you want to do that? Reveal your secret?"

"Yes…I do, if only to see the look on Dumbledore's face. I'm sick of waiting and constantly sneaking out is making things more difficult, besides I can handle assassinations so I should be fine."

"Oh I'm not worried about you" Ginny shook her head "the death eaters, maybe, but not you"

"Love you too" Before more could be said the common room door opened and a furious Ron and Hermione walked in.

"Potter" Ron spat

"You know I think he's just permanently angry" Harry commented

"Shut your mouth, this is all your fault" Ron pointed at Hermione, to which Harry raised an eyebrow

"As attractive as Mrs Granger was, I haven't slept with her. I think the blame for that particular problem resides with Mr and Mrs Granger."

"That's not what he meant" Hermione turned red "he meant this" Hermione showed Harry her hand, in her skin the words 'I will not lie' was written.

"Blood quills right?" Ginny asked "we've heard she's been using them on a few people, but how is this Harrys fault?"

"Umbridge put her in detention because of you" Ron pointed at Harry "apparently she was 'telling lies' when she said you-know-who had come back"

"Weasley if you keep pointing that finger at me you're going to lose it" Harry looked at the finger as if it had insulted his mother, Ron paled slightly before hiding his hands his back "besides it's not my fault she chose to speak instead of staying quiet"

"But Harry, you were lying about you-know-who" Hermione pointed out

"That depends on how you define lying"

"I define it as not telling the truth" Hermione replied "what do you define it as?"

"Reclining your body in a horizontal position" Harry answered with a straight face. Silence ringed through the common room.

"I'm leaving" Hermione spoke before doing just that.

"So…" Harry spoke awkwardly "done anything meaningful or important with your life yet?"

"Get stuffed Potter" Ron growled before stalking off

"Such an impressive way of speaking" Ginny sighed "so, what do you want to do now?"

"Well I'm going off to play vigilante then I'll be back at around midnight"

"Okay, I'll wait for you"

"You don't need to do that"

"And you don't need to go out save the world"

"Sort of do, you know, being the only one capable and all" Harry slowly stood and Ginny got off his lap.

"Happy hunting" She pecked him on the cheek before he left.

Harry left the common room and popped away, he was rather pleased with himself as by the time he returned he had had the pleasure of running into ten death eaters. When he returned his clothes turned back into his school robes, as he walked down the hallway at night he was intercepted by Ginny.

"Hey beautiful" Harry smiled "what's up?"

"Harry" Ginny spoke in an urgent voice "Stink came back, apparently one of the elves had saw a death eater at the department of mysteries, he overheard plans to steal the prophecy tomorrow"

"What?!" Harry asked in a shocked voice "what do you know?"

"Only they're planning to do it around tomorrow afternoon" Ginny replied "the elf is following them, he's been ordered to immediately leave if his life is in danger so don't worry about him. He should get some more information later, I told Stink to have us informed in the morning"

"Good, it might have to go down tomorrow then…come on, let's get some sleep"

The two made their way back to their private room when someone walked around the corner and now stood in front of them with a victorious look.

"Aha" Dolores Umbridge shouted "I've caught you two, up at night, outside of curfew"

"Prefects" Ginny replied "it's our turn to do the rounds"

"Today is the Ravenclaws turns" Umbridge smiled so wide that Harry thought her mouth would break. "What do you have to say for yourselves"

"I'll take care of this" Harry spoke softly to Ginny before he turned to Umbridge with a serious look on his face "Dolores Umbridge, what do you think you are doing out this late?!" Umbridge opened her mouth but found herself speechless "You could have been dead for all we knew!"

"Well as you can, see I am very much alive."

"I know and how dare you get our hopes up like that?! I've never been so disappointed in all my life! Moving stairs, a forbidden forest filled with tons of dangerous creatures and a magical school with little to no safety rules and you haven't even managed to get injured! I'm incredibly mad with you right now!"

Harry shouted before he grabbed Ginny's hand and angrily stalked off. Umbridge was in total shock before she realised that Potter was running off, she quickly, or as fast as she could, ran up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around.

"I'm not finished with you yet" She removed her hand and wiped it on her pink cardigan

"GIN!" Harry shouted "IT'S TIME TO INITIATE EMERGENCY ESCAPE PLAN 'TEN POINT 23 DASH C BRACKETED COLUMN FIFTY-NINE UNDERLINED PARAGRAPH 24 HIGHLIGHTED TEXT EIGHTEEN QUOTED TEXT MARKED F SECTION NINE-ELEVEN-THREE-FOUR-FIVE-TWO NEGATIVE THREE SUBSECTION EIGHTY THREE!'"

"What the devil are you doing?" A confused Umbridge asked. Harry tilted slightly to see Ginny running past a corner up ahead, Umbridge hadn't noticed her disappear. Harry smirked sheepishly.

"Distract you" He turned on his heels and ran away as fast as he could, Umbridge was about to comment when she realised that Ginny had also gone.

"Bugger!" She stomped her feet and stormed off, "I'll get you Potter."

Harry and Ginny had managed to escape and made it back to their room, after some laughing at Umbridge the two sat down and began talking.

"So" Ginny started "how was your hunt?"

"I found ten death eaters, I greeted the ten death eaters, I left the ten death eaters in a pile of blood"

"How nice of you" Ginny replied sarcastically "so what do you want to do now?"

"Sex first, obviously"

"Obviously" Ginny nodded

"I'm going to reveal my identity tomorrow and deal with the death eaters at the same time, tomorrow morning I'll organise an emergency meeting with the DA tomorrow. You can tell them about what's happening while I go off and deal with it. You should probably tell McGonagall and the others while you're at it"

"Harry, I know you can do it on your own, but don't you think it's be wise to have some help"

"I plan to have help" Harry replied "because when it goes down the order will show up, I plan to send word to Sirius, Tonks and the other members so they know what's going on. They could help out when they get there"

"Aren't you smart?" Ginny joked "I've trained you good"

"You trained me?!" Harry asked incredulously

"Yes"

"I hate you"

"No you don't"

"No I don't" Harry grumbled "this is ridiculous, I regularly kill death eaters but I can't win an argument against my wife"

"Glad to know you remember the pecking order" Ginny lead him to the bead "now come on, I'll give you a good reason to cheer up." Ginny slowly placed her lips on his neck, and began making her way up to his lips.

"I change my mind" Harry shivered with joy "I bloody love you." Harry grabbed her and pulled her onto the bed.

The next day, Dolores Umbridge woke up, despite last night she was very happy. She finally had an excuse to punish Potter, while the boy may not have been a supporter of Dumbledore, he still was not a supporter of the ministry. And Dolores knew that he was responsible for all the pranks that have been pulled on her.

She got up and got changed, she left her living quarters with a sugary smile and went out to find Potter. She couldn't find him or Ginny, never mind, she had him first period. She'd get him in front of the whole class. She sat at her desk, she watched as all the students came in. She saw Longbottom, Weasley, the mud blood Granger and a few others but she did not see either of the Potters.

"Hey" Potter finally walked in, Dolores was about to say something when she noticed the smirk on his face. He raised his wand, smoke began pouring out of it. "Riot" Was all he said before the smoke enveloped the whole classroom.

Screams were heard, there was a lot of movement but it ended a minute later. Once the smoke cleared most of the students were gone, except Draco Malfoy and the other members of the inquisitorial squad who were tied up and stuck to the ceiling. Ron and Hermione were also there but they were too confused to do anything.

"Potter!" Umbridge stood up and raised her wand, but the second it was aimed at Potter he disarmed her and hit her with the full body bind spell.

"Harry?! What are you doing?!" Hermione screamed

"Silencio" Harry waved his wand, Ron and Hermione tried to keep talking but found that they couldn't. Harry then did the same to Umbridge, he watched with amusement as Hermione tried to cancel the curse but couldn't.

"Listen up" Harry smiled "I'm going to make a quick visit to the ministry and kill some death eaters, I have no doubt that you'll tell Dumbledore once the silencing spell is off. And it should come off in about half an hour, Dumbledore would need about ten minutes to get it off of you. So when you do see him, tell him Potter knows about the prophecy, he'll handle it from there. Now I've got to run, toddles."

Harry turned and walked away, he stopped in the doorway with a thoughtful expression, he walked back in and hit Umbridge with the strongest bat bogey hex he could muster then made his way back out.

' _Gin_ ' Harry mentally spoke to Ginny ' _I'll be off now_ '

' _Okay, the rest of the DA is causing havoc throughout the rest of the school. Fred and George let off a big dragon made out of fireworks and it completely wrecked the great hall, good luck, and make me proud_ '

Harry took a breath and left the school, he sneaked into the ministry then into the department of mysteries, he was rather disappointed with the ease that it took for him to do so. Once he got to the prophecy room, he looked around, all around him were prophecies as far as the eye can see.

"Wow" Harry whistled "impressive" He calmly walked around, eventually he found his own prophecy. "So you're what all the fuss is about?" He picked it up, immediately he felt his body tingle and he let out a short laugh. "You can come out now"

All around the room, figures exited from the shadows, all wearing death eater costumes. Harry looked around, he saw at least thirty of them.

"Hello Potter" A familiar voice drawled, Harry turned to see Lucius Malfoy, next to him stood Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Lucius bloody Malfoy" Harry smiled "it's been so long, you never visit, you never write. What's up with that? Oh and I see you've brought some new friends? How much did you have to pay them to play with you?"

"Enough jokes Potter" Lucius replied "hand over the prophecy"

"Come on ittle wittle Potter" Bellatrix spoke in a baby voice "no need to be scared"

"Bellatrix Lestrange!" Harry exclaimed in a cheerful voice "I've hear all about you! I'm quite impressed with your work, is it true you killed five inmates with your bare hands?"

"Six" Bellatrix corrected him

"Well done" Harry tossed the prophecy ball in the air and clapped before he caught it "proving that woman are just as strong as men, you must be proud"

"Yes I am rather proud, it's nice to be appreciated, now give us the prophecy"

"What? You mean this prophecy?" Harry asked as he was absently tossing the ball up and down "why do you want it?"

"The dark lord wants the prophecy Potter" Malfoy interrupted "if you give it to us now, you will be spared."

"Lucius, sometimes I wonder what your wife saw in you" Bellatrix giggled a little at Harry's comment "you don't get surrounded by thirty of Voldemorts death eaters, including Bellatrix Lestrange and not get into a fight."

"How dare you half-blood?!" Bellatrix shouted "you're not fit to speak my masters name!"

"Ignoring the irony of the half-blood comments for a second, I may not be fit enough to say his name but I'm fit enough to beat him though, did Lucius tell you how our last battle ended, with me shooting him in the face and walking away while he was unconscious"

"Oh please" Lucius replied "the only reason you were able to even touch him was because that fool had messed up the ritual and weakened him, the dark lord is as strong as ever now, if you ever see him again then I promise you the results will not be the same."

Lucius kept droning on about how Voldermort would kill him, Harry took the opportunity to look into his mind, he immediately went past his pathetic defences. He saw that Voldemort had hoped that Harry would receive the image of Sirius being tortured and come and help him.

"You think you're half-blood master scares me?" Harry asked "as a matter of fact I think he's scared of me, that's why he sent thirty of you fools to deal with just me"

"LIAR!" Bellatrix screamed "DO NOT TELL LIES ABOUT MY MASTER! HE'D KILL YOU IN AN INSTANT!"

"I have a feeling we'll test that belief very soon" Harry smiled, the death eaters were starting to get a little worried. They had heard tales of what Potter had done and how he beat their master, and here he was surrounded by thirty death eaters but didn't seem a little scared. "but for now, let's talk about how I'm going to kill each and every one of you"

"You kill us?" Malfoy sneered "you're outmatched and outnumbered Potter"

"Yes but I like to think my extensive experience in killing has prepared me for this"

"Ah, does wittle baby Potter think he's a big man?" Bellatrix cooed "you think you can scare us?"

"Bellatrix shut the hell up" Harry calmly replied "I'm old enough to bed you and quite frankly I would if I wasn't married and obeyed the universal rule of not sticking your dick in crazy." Bellatrix's eyes lit up with fury, she aimed her wand at Potter and was about to fire off the torture curse.

"No! Wait!" Lucius ordered "the dark lord wants the prophecy! We can't have it get damaged!"

"Oh, so there is a brain underneath that wig" Harry joked "shame I'd have to splatter it all across this floor, now as I was saying, I'm going to kill you all. There are about thirty of you, that shouldn't be a problem for me, I've killed thirty-five death eaters this week alone."

"What are you talking about?" One death eater asked

"Of for goodness sakes" Harry shook his head "I've killed thirty-five death eaters this week, twenty last week and twenty two the week before. It's really fun, gets the blood flowing and the adrenaline pumping. But you all know what I'm talking about, don't you?

When you kill someone, that look in their eyes, it makes you feel superior doesn't it. Seeing the light get snuffed out as you take their life away from them and damn if it isn't addictively fun"

"Huh" Bellatrix raised an eye brow "maybe he is a killer after all"

"Not likely" Lucius snapped "if Potter was killing then it'd be all over the news!"

"Oh but it has been" Harry laughed "I don't want to waste time explaining this to you but I will leave you with the following words. You death eaters, your master, all of you…are cursed" Harry motioned putting a hood on and he transformed into Curse, as his costume came on a collective gasp of surprise was heard as many death eaters took a step back.

"You!" Malfoy blurted out in surprise "you're Curse! Impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible" Curse flicked his wrist and his wand came to his hand "now if you'll excuse me, I have to kill you and escape now."

Curse raised his wand and the death eaters were surprised when he hit one of them with a killing curse, they prepared to fire but before they could a bright light shot out from his wand and blinded them. A few of them fired blindly, once the light died down and they opened their eyes and saw he had disappeared, some of the death eaters had accidentally been shot by their own.

"Spread out!" Lucius ordered "find him and retrieve the orb!"

The death eaters did so, they spread out and looked around the room, the room was deathly silent. The only noise that could be heard was their own footsteps, Bellatrix walked around cautiously. Her head constantly turning, waiting to see something, just as she turned she saw a green light come towards her, she narrowly dodged and it hit the death eater behind her.

Bellatrix saw that he person who had shot it at her was another death eater, he began firing killing curses at random death eaters, he took out two before Bellatrix hit him with one of her own.

"HA" She laughed "Potter had put him under the imperious, maybe he really isn't playing around."

The death eaters continued the search, all was quiet, they had started getting nervous. Then a scream was heard, one of the death eaters had been thrown in the air and fell from about twenty feet and landed on his neck in front of Lucius. A cutting curse was sent and killed another death eater, the death eaters started firing curses in that direction.

"Hey" A demonic voice spoke, they all turned around to see Curse standing by the exit "you missed, reducto"

He fired the spell at the ceiling, the ceiling broke and fell down, knocking the shelves down as well. Curse calmly walked out while the death eaters ran for the exit, a few of them were crushed by the fallen ceiling and shelves.

Once the death eaters had gotten out, they noticed that their numbers had been decreased a lot from when they entered. Now only twenty two remained, it then turned into twenty one when one of them fell to the ground with a hole in his head.

"Bullet spell" Curse spoke "patent pending"

He ran and the death eaters chased him, they wanted to fire a few curses at him but couldn't because he was still holding the prophecy. He eventually lead them to a room, in the room there was nothing, nothing except the big curtain in the middle. The veil, Curse realised, he moved forwards then the death eaters barged in. Curse stood in the centre as they all surrounded him.

"Give it up Potter" Malfoy spoke "give us the prophecy"

"Go fetch" Curse threw the prophecy as hard as he could, it hit the wall behind Malfoy and shattered into pieces.

"NO!" Malfoy screamed

"Bad dog" Curse said as Malfoy walked over to him, he aimed his wand at him

"Any last words?"

"Excuse me" A cough caught his attention, Malfoy turned back and saw Sirius Black standing in front of him. "Get away from my godson" Sirius struck Malfoy across the face with a right hook.

"Good dog" Curse said right before he started firing at the death eaters, Sirius joined him and then the rest of the order arrived.

Tonks and Remus appeared, along with Mad-eye and Shacklebolt, they all fought against the death eaters. Mad-eye had just taken out one death eater when he saw Curse, he saw the man taking out three death eaters with ease. Mad-eye tried to use his eye to peer into his hood, but was surprised when it didn't work.

Curse looked at Mad-eye and raised his wand, he fired a red spell and Mad-eye had immediately gotten his shield up, it turns out he didn't need to do so as the spell wasn't meant for him. It travelled past him and hit the death eater that had his wand aimed at Tonks.

"Constant vigilance" Curse said to Tonks who had just realised what had happened, her hair turned red with embarrassment.

"I like him" Mad-eye smiled

"Likewise" Curse replied before re-entering combat. Sirius meanwhile was trading spells with Bellatrix while Remus was doing the same with her husband. Bellatrix was a great duellist but Sirius was better thanks to natural talents and training with Harry.

"Come on Bella" Sirius taunted "you can do better than that, my godson would have you on the floor in five seconds"

"I'm going to enjoy killing you cousin" Bellatrix replied as she fired a dark curse at Sirius who calmly dodged "then I'm going to take your godson to my master and watch as he kills him"

"Go ahead" Sirius smiled and fired a stunner at her "IF you can capture Harry then you are more than free to watch your master fail to kill him. I mean I applaud his efforts but he's already failed about, three times and Harry hasn't even had his owl exams yet."

"Shut your mouth" Bellatrix screamed as she fired the killing Curse at Sirius who leaped out of the way and fired a dark curse at Bellatrix, who barley ducked out of the way

"That was a dark curse" She said in surprise "that could have killed me"

"I know, my godson taught me it" Sirius grinned "admittedly at first I was a bit unsure but he made the point of it being better to use them then receive them"

"I'm impressed" Bellatrix admitted "years of you being a disappointment and it takes the son of your pathetic friends to get you to grow a pair"

"Don't you ever insult James!" Sirius fired a cutting curse at Bellatrix, she blocked it before firing one back, which Sirius blocked.

"I agree" Curse spoke as he walked towards the two while dragging a half-conscious death eater and tossing him into the veil, he tossed him into the veil then turned to Sirius. "Hang back and watch the show"

Sirius did as ordered and stepped back, that's when he realised that the rest of the order were all grouped up. He ran over to them.

"What's going on?" He asked

"Well we've got nobody left to fight" Tonks answered "Curse over there, he killed them all, or at least most of them. I have to admit, while it was gory it was also impressive. Malfoy he left alive, presumably to interrogate and but he took out the rest, even killed the ones we stunned." Sirius looked around and noticed the dead bodies scattered around the room and the unconscious Malfoy who was tied up with ropes.

"Oh yeah, well then I guess we should watch the show"

"Albus will be here soon" Moody pointed out "Curse needs to hurry up over there if he wants to get out of here with that hood still on his face"

"Somehow, I don't think he cares" Mooney smiled

"You two know, you know don't you?" Kingsley asked "You know who he is?"

"Don't worry" Sirius grinned "you'll find out by the end of the day" The group watched as Curse engaged Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Let's get this over with" Curse spoke "I have a meeting with your boss"

Bellatrix fired a cutting curse at Curse who lazily swatted it away before responding with two of his own cutting curses, she dodged the first but the second struck her in the back of her leg. She yelped but continued to fire, she threw as many dark curses as she could think of, including the unforgivables but nothing hit him. He blocked or dodged all of them, his lack of effort infuriated her even more.

"What's wrong?" Bellatrix panted "you can't fight back?"

"You're boring" Curse raised his wand "Imperio!" The curse hit her and her eyes became blank "You're going to kill yourself, not using the unforgivables, you're going to kill yourself on the spot in the most painful way you can think of. As you die, you will say the words 'In honour of Frank and Alice Longbottom'".

Curse walked away, he knew Bellatrix knew more dark curses than most people, she raised her wand and aimed it at her own face. Curse walked out as she fired a spell that burnt her skin, all of her skin. All the way to the bones, as Curse walked away he heard screams, painful and well deserved screams. As soon as he stepped out the door he heard a voice.

"IN…HONOUR….OF….FR…ANK….AND…..ALICE….LONG…BOTTOM!"

After that all he heard was a thud, and the sound of vomit, presumably from Tonks and clapping, presumably from Sirius and Remus.

He walked out, and kept walking, he stopped at the entrance of the ministry. Nobody was there, he saw a desk and a rather large poster of Fudge and that was all, but he still felt a tingle in his body.

"You can come out now" He said, no sooner than he did, Voldermort appeared. He looked much healthier, he still looked like a bald red eyed prat in Curses opinion.

"The dreaded Curse" Voldermort spoke softly "I must say I am impressed with your work, if rumours are to be correct then you have beaten Albus Dumbledore in a duel"

"That is true" Curse nodded "however I suspect that the fight would have been more interesting if the fool learnt that stunning and disarming are not the only spells allowed in a duel"

"Ah, yes, that is true" Voldemort agreed "as I had said previously, I am impressed with your skill and methods, I would offer you a place in my ranks but seeing as you've been killing my death eaters, I don't believe you'd except."

"You'd be right Tom" Voldemort flinched in anger. "It's funny, the old codger offered me to join him as well, both of my identities were offered the chance to join him, in fact he doesn't really know who I am yet. I imagine he'd be quiet upset if his golden boy no longer followed the light."

"Potter?" Voldermort deduced

"Ten points to Slytherin" Curse joked "tell me Thomas, how are we today? You weren't looking good last time around? Even before I beat you, Malfoy was mouthing off, he and his son tend to do that, and I heard from his big mouth and silver tongue that you've managed to fix the side effects of the ritual."

"Yes I have" Voldermort drew his wand "admittedly it was harder to do without Snape but I managed to do it"

"Oh Snape, I may have had something to do with his absence." Curse admitted "now as much as I enjoy chatting with you, I'd like to start fighting sometime before Dumbledore gets here."

"Very well" Voldermort nodded before firing a curse at Curse.

Curse rolled out of the way and rapidly fired three of his own spells, Voldemort quickly blocked them all and fired a killing curse which Curse ducked before firing one of his own at Voldemort. Voldemort conjured a block of concrete to block the hit before he banished the concrete straight at Curse, Curse saw this and quickly transformed the concrete into some birds. As they flew to Voldemort, Curse turned their wings into spiky steel wings, just like he did with the bats in the graveyard. But unfortunately for him, it didn't work as Voldemort quickly vanished them and threw a cutting curse at him.

"I must admit" Curse blocked the cutting curse "you're definitely stronger, I'm glad you are, if you hadn't then I'd be disappointed." Curse fired three cutting curses which Voldemort blocked, dodged and ducked in that order.

"I'm glad you're happy" Voldemort replied "I hate for my victims to die disappointed"

Voldemort fired a killing curse, Curse rolled out of the way before firing his own killing curse. Voldemort ducked and then barley avoided the torture curse that was sent his way, he then threw an organ rupturing curse at him. Curse cartwheeled to the side and avoided the curse, he then shot a jet of fire at Voldemort followed by a jet of water at his feet.

Voldemort got rid of the fire and was left curious as to what Potter was planning to do with the water, he looked up, he couldn't let himself get distracted. He dodged a shard of ice sent his way.

"Lumos" Curse shouted and his wand lit up with a bright white light, Voldemort covered his eyes and Curse took the opportunity to fire another ice shard which hit Voldemort in the shoulder, Curse used the momentary distraction to freeze the water on the floor and grinned under his hood at the results. The water had frozen Voldemorts feet as well, leaving him stuck.

Voldemort realised this too, he was about to banish the ice when he felt blood coming from his right arm. Curse had hit him with his bullet spell, Curse then shot multiple bullet spells, hitting Voldemort in the arms and legs and causing his wand to fly out of his hand.

"Stop!" A voice commanded, the two turned to see Dumbledore standing in front of them.

"Dumbledore" Curse growled

"Stop this, this isn't the way" Dumbledore spoke to Curse, who just ignored him and threw a cutting curse at Voldemort, it grazed his cheek and blood dripped down from it.

"Like I told you Dumbledore, I don't care for your 'light side' or your code. I have Voldemort himself right in front of me, and you wish for me to not end it?"

"The boy has a point Dumbledore" Voldemort smiled, despite the pain "you have the perfect opportunity to get rid of me"

"Please, I implore you" Dumbledore spoke to Curse "stop this killing"

"If you're so against it then you won't like the dead bodies I left your order to pick up"

"You can't kill him!" Dumbledore shouted

"Ah" Curse spoke as if he suddenly realised something "let me guess, it's because of the prophecy isn't it?"

"How do you know about that?" Dumbledore demanded

"I should know, it's about me after all" Curse spoke slowly, underneath he was smiling and even Voldemort was.

"H…Harry?" Dumbledore breathed

"No, Voldemort" Curse sarcastically replied "of course it's me!"

"NO! I can't believe this! You're lying! Harry would never!"

"Sweet Merlin!" A voice exclaimed, the three turned to see Fudge along with members of the ministry and a few reporters including Rita Skeeter "Curse! It's Curse…and….you-know-who!"

"Are you sure?" Curse asked sarcastically

"Please, stop this madness" Dumbledore continued

"This will only stop when he dies or I die. Unless you were referring to the sarcasm, if you were then I will never stop"

Curse fired a bullet spell at Voldemorts head, Dumbledore interfered and conjured a shield in front of Voldemort. Dumbledore was surprise by the fact that his shield could barely stop the spell, Curse aimed his wand and fired at Dumbledore, the spell was faster this time. Dumbledore stepped out of the way and the bullet grazed his arm.

Voldemort took advantage of the distraction, he escaped the ice and rolled towards his wand. He aimed it at Curse and a massive blast of blue lighting fired from his wand at him, Curse noticed this and in his distraction he got hit with a spell by Albus which hit him in the arm.

He dropped his wand, his arm stung but it wasn't anything too bad. Dumbledore must have hit him with a stinging hex, he had to admit using a stinging hex to get rid of a wand was a smart move, pointless when the disarming spell exists, but smart. He turned to see the lightning come at him, Dumbledore had just noticed it and he couldn't get shield up to save him in time. Not like he'd need it.

Curse raised his left hand and the lightning struck his palm, he was pushed back about ten meters. His feet planted on the floor as hard as possible, as he stopped getting pushed back his hood fell off and revealed his face.

He did it intentionally, he planned to take the hood off after Voldemort had gone but he figured it looked cooler this way. With Voldemorts lightning running all around his body and face, he had to conclude that he was right. Gasps were heard, the ministry workers and reporters were in total shock. None more so than Dumbledore whose mouth was currently gaping open like a fish.

Harry smiled as the lightning coursed through his left arm into his right, he winked at a surprised Voldemort before stepping forward with his right foot and pushing his right hand out. The lightning flew from his right hand straight at Voldemort who couldn't believe that Potter just redirected lightning.

The lightning blast hit the floor below him, and Voldemort flew through the air and landed about twenty meters back. Voldemort stood up, slowly. Potter wandlessly summoned his wand back to his hand, and Dumbledore was as still as a statue.

"As much as I'd to conclude this fight" Voldemort drawled "I am a busy man, you will meet your end Potter, one day."

"I have a feeling that it won't be at your hands" Harry coolly replied "now off you pop Tom, I'll see you soon"

"Oh I will enjoy killing you" Voldemort growled before he apparated away.

Harry sighed and rubbed his hands through his hair, he took a few steps as if he was about to leave then he stopped. He looked around and saw Fudge and Dumbledore were gaping at him along with the ministry workers and reporters, he discreetly tucked his wand back into his holster. He stood there smiling, with his hands behind his back.

"You…you-know-who is back!" Fudge squeaked

"No shit" Harry retorted

"You…you're Curse!" Dumbledore barley managed to get out

"And you're Dumbledore" Harry quipped

"But how?" Dumbledore spoke slowly "how can you be Curse?"

"Oh simple really, I put on this costume then I got out at night then I kill death eaters"

"Huh?...Uh…right!" Fudge marched towards Harry, hoping that arresting him would make up for this complete and utter mess with you-know-who. "You, Harry James Potter, are under arrest"

Harrys smile disappeared, he looked at the minister with narrow eyes, Fudge would never admit it but he peed himself a little when Harry took a step forward and looked at him, straight in the eyes. The aurors stood nervously, they were in all honesty, a little scared of Harry at the moment and Dumbledore looked too shocked to help.

Fudge was frozen still as Harrys green eyes, which strongly reminded him of a killing curse at the moment, looked at him as if he was judging his soul. Harrys right eyebrow suddenly raised itself, Harry and his lips curved up slightly. Harry had given Fudge a look of amusement and disgust, making Fudge wonder what he was thinking. Suddenly Harry smiled, he leaned closer to the minister.

"I had better get a fair trial, in fact I'm positive that I will enjoy it" Harry whispered "because if I don't, well, your wife may end up finding out about the time you spent with Maria in human resources."

Fudges eyes widened as Harry walked away, he thought over the implications and was wondering what to do next when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned back to see Potter looking at him.

"By the way" Harry gave him a small smile "good luck with your position as minister"

Harry winked at walked away, he walked towards the aurors and reporters. As he did Dumbledore grabbed his arm.

"Harry" He whispered "I think you had better come with me, we can discuss this before the aurors take you away."

"We could" Harry nodded "but that doesn't seem like my idea of a good time"

"Harry please!" Dumbledore begged "you need to talk with me and stop this madness for…"

"Let me guess, 'the greater good', right Albus?" Harry interrupted "unfortunately for you, justice waits for no man, not even me. Besides, I've done all of my owl exams and homework so you don't really need to worry about my education, that remind me, don't you have a mess to clean up at school?

Something about fireworks, a tied up Umbridge and general chaos if I remember correctly. Don't worry, I promise we can talk after my trial"

"Harry, after your trial you'll be…"

"Freed and on my way back home before I return to Hogwarts after the summer" Harry said confidently

"But Harry, how can you be so confident?"

"Now Dumbledore, I can't reveal all of my secrets, can i? Well I can but I'd rather not. However, I guarantee you that one way or another, I will be going home after the trial. See you later"

Harry freed himself from Dumbledore's grasp and walked over to the aurors and reporters, who backed up a little as he approached. Harry stopped in front of them and offered his hands to the aurors who looked very nervous.

"Relax" Harry shook his head with an amused expression "I won't harm you, unless you have a dark mark and/or try to harm me" Harry looked to the reporters.

"Miss Skeeter" Harry called out to Rita "Voldemort has returned and my identity has been revealed, I'm expecting a good story from you. I know you won't disappoint me, make it flashy and important please. I expect to read it sometime soon, and if I like it then I'll give you a personal interview after my trial is over" For once in her life, Rita Skeeter just couldn't think of a response to this young man.

"Mr Potter" A cool voice spoke, belonging to one Kingsley Shacklebolt, Kingsley placed the handcuffs on Harry and began to lead him away.

"Kingsley, Harry" Dumbledore called out and the two stopped "I…"

"Hey Dumbledore" Harry interrupted "I guess you were right, Voldemort has returned. I'll explain my reasons for not saying so at the trial but perhaps you could tell the lovely reporters how you knew he returned even when I didn't tell you?"

Dumbledore was about to give Harry a response when he was swarmed by reporters and blinded by camera flashes, all he could see beyond the swarms of camera men and reporters was Harry smirk at him before walking off with Kingsley. As Kingsley and Harry began walking, the two entered a conversation.

"You know" Kingsley whispered "Moody is very impressed with your work"

"I consider that to be one of, if not the, biggest compliments I have ever had the pleasure of receiving" Harry chuckled

"I'll tell him you said that" Kingsley smiled

"You make sure you do that, now, I think it would be safe to believe that Remus and Sirius are of a similar opinion."

"Naturally" Kingsley nodded "after you left, the two were looking as smug and proud as a Malfoy, who coincidentally is being detained along with one other death eater who I believe is called Nott."

"Nott you say?" Harrys face briefly had a surprised look "hmm, interesting, I know his son. Nice boy, or at least he is once you get to know him a little bit. Fortunately for us I don't think he would mind even if I had gotten rid of his father, you may want to question him while you're at it, perhaps his son can reveal a few things that could help you."

"I'll make a note to do that"

"Oh yeah, what about Nymphodora 'don't call me that' Tonks? Did she say anything once her mouth had been cleaned of her breakfast?" Kingsley laughed a little before he continued speaking.

"Yes she did Harry. Tonks, after she got over the blood and guts, is also impressed by how you handled things and something along the lines of having complete trust in you three, by which she meant Sirius, Remus and yourself. Moody is in the same boat, needless to say, so are Remus and Sirius."

"What about you Mr Shacklebolt?" Harry asked "where do you stand on what I've done? Not just today, but over my whole career as a night time vigilante?"

"Well…I understand that rules need to be broken occasionally and frankly Albus isn't providing the results that make breaking them worth it. You, however, are and it is clear to anyone with decent observation skills. You've definitely made a difference, crime has definitely lowered since you came on the scene and according to rumours a lot of death eaters are very, very terrified of you.

Plus the fact that you just killed about twenty eight out of thirty death eaters on your own and nearly got Voldemort makes you seem like someone worth following. Me, Moody, Tonks, Remus and Sirius have all got your back. Sirius and Remus have invited us to spy for you in the order"

"Will you do it?"

"That depends on if you can escape Azkaban, if you do then you can count on it"

"I'm not going to Azkaban" Harry spoke in a voice full of confidence.

"I assume you have a plan, Harry"

"Of course I do" Harry whispered "you think my identity being revealed was unintentional Kingsley?"

"You planned this?" Kingsley's voice revealed how surprised the calm and collected Auror was. "Really?"

"Yeah" Harry nodded "Dumbledore showed up here because I told people at the school I was coming here, you showed up here with Moody, Tonks and Sirius because it was Remus's turn to guard the prophecy and I told him to go and contact you four and leave the prophecy hall unguarded.

The only reason he didn't contact more members was because I ordered him not to do so, I was more than capable of taking care of them on my own so all of us put together would have wiped the floor with them, and to prove my point, we did, in fact so much so that someone needs to actually wipe the floor. Anyway, I made sure he called you all instead of some of the other order members because that way you could see me in action and see I'm serious about fighting Voldemort and so you could see what I'm about.

Plus it helped Dumbledore believe Sirius and Remus are loyal to the order, and the same applies to you guys. You guys aren't like the other order members, I don't know them enough to make an accurate judgement but from what I've seen they are loyal to Dumbledore and not the protection of the people.

Dumbledore may be an exceptional wizard but he is no way capable of leading a war against Voldemort, because that's what we are in Kingsley, a war. His ineffective leadership last time is what lead to the whole of wizarding Britain making a baby famous for stopping the biggest dark lord this country has ever seen.

Dumbledore is ineffective and he is dishonest, you're all pawns to him and you don't need to know more than he tells you to. For example, I bet he didn't tell you that he doesn't plan to kill Voldemort yet, mostly because nobody can yet. I could have killed Voldemort right then and there if Dumbledore didn't show up and I really wanted to, but I stalled and let him show up and stop me because I needed an excuse not to kill him. Voldemort is unkillable at the moment."

"Why?" Kingsley had to admit that he was very intrigued "if it was true then it would make a lot of our efforts pointless"

"He's not immortal Kingsley, he's just not capable of dying yet, he will die. I promise you that, but he will not die yet. Not this year, maybe next year or the year after, I really can't tell. It depends on how long it takes me to remove his methods of cheating death."

"Methods?" Kingsley asked

"Voldemort, while being a complete and utter arse, was smart enough not to rely on one method to stop himself from dying. Dumbledore knows about at least one of his methods but even then, I'm not sure how much he knows about it. I doubt he knows about his second contingency plan"

"Would you mind telling me what those contingencies are?"

"A little" Harry admitted "Kingsley, I'm tempted to pull a Dumbledore on you and everyone else and tell you it's a need to know basis but I'm not like him, fortunately. I will tell you, however if you want to know then it'll be after my trial and after you swear an unbreakable vow to me that says you won't repeat the information I tell you without my permission. You may think it's extreme but I'd rather keep my cards as close to my chest as possible, I hope you find that fair."

"Hmm" Kingsley thought about it for a bit "well it's better than not knowing I guess"

"Fair warning, what I tell you could throw your world upside down. And if you break down then I am not patting your back and dragging you away from bars because you've become depressed and turned to alcohol and drugs"

"That big, huh?"

"That BIG" Harry emphasised the last word as much as he possibly could as possible "as in 'change the whole way you want to approach the war' big"

"Very well then, I'll tell Moody and Tonks and see if they agree"

"Oh don't worry about Tonks" Harry smirked

"You already got your teeth into her, haven't you?" An amused Kingsley asked

"No! I would never!" Harry shouted dramatically "Remus would be jealous if I did" He added in a whisper.

"True" Kingsley snorted "by the way, who taught you to fight like that? I know it wasn't Albus or any of the order?"

"I'm not allowed to say Kingsley, sorry" Harry spoke apologetically

"Quite alright, I completely understand. So, do I get to know what you're planning to do for your trial?"

"Well, all I can let you know at the moment is that it will include some very dramatic acting, on my part and a stunned audience. I will also have to paint myself in a very negative light, incredibly negative, like I'd look about as evil as Voldemort but hopefully it will all work out."

"Hopefully" Kingsley nodded. "what about your wife?"

"You think she doesn't know?" Harry looked at Kingsley with an 'are you stupid look?' "I value my life, believe it or not, and lying to Ginny about going out and hunting bad guys is the fastest way for me to get hurt."

"No offence to Ginny but you just took on you-know-who himself and you're worried about her?" Kingsley looked a bit confused

"Kingsley you've never seen Ginny angry, I'm just glad she doesn't aim her anger at me, mostly because I'm smart enough to avoid making her angry and the fact that we don't like arguing with each other. Besides, if Voldemort is angry at me then I can shoot him in the face, can't exactly use the same approach when Ginny gets mad at me, can I?"

"True" Kingsley snickered.

Later in the evening the mess in Hogwarts had all calmed down, fortunately the DA were smart and discreet enough to not get blamed for the schools chaos. Many rumours were going around about how Harry was responsible for this and how he was going to be expelled, although those mostly came from Malfoy.

In the Gryffindor common room everyone sat comfortably, some were playing, some were studying and some were just talking. Ginny sat with the twins, she had a book in her hands and the was multi-tasking between talking with the twins and reading the book.

"Ginny" Ron walked up to her, followed by the bushy haired nuisance "I've had it with the suspense, what is Harry up to?" The room went silent, all wanting to know.

"Why?" Ginny asked calmly

"Ginny" Hermione spoke "he walked into class, tied up the inquisitorial squad and Professor Umbridge and left while Hogwarts was in chaos! He also said he was going to kill some death eaters at the ministry!"

"I'm aware" Ginny said matter-of-factly

"Then how are you so calm?!"

"Because when Harry wants to do something, it's usually pretty useless to try and stop him."

"Hey guys" Neville shouted "listen to this!" He turned the radio up and everyone paid close attention to the voice.

"The ministry is in utter chaos! The danger may be over but people are still panicking, some have even began preparing to leave the country. Listen nice and close ladies and gents, because this story is a whopper and it ends with twenty-eight deaths and two massive reveals that will shock the country" Some of the Gryffindor's leaned closer.

"Today at the ministry there was a disturbance near the department of mysteries, specifically the room containing prophecies and the room that holds the veil of death. Apparently about thirty death eaters were found in the ministry, it is believed that they were on a mission from you-know-who. Thirty death eaters entered, but now only two of those death eaters remain alive." A few gasps were heard but everyone else was too busy listening to notice

"The prophecies room has been wrecked and a few of those death eaters were found under the collapsed shelves and ceilings of the room, the only one alive out of those few was Mr Nott, a person who has claimed that he was under the effects of the imperious curse during the last war. He was found with a pair of crushed legs and bruises whilst in a complete death eater outfit.

But upon closer inspection it seemed that some of the death eaters that were found dead in that room were not killed by the falling ceiling or shelves, but by the killing curse. One death eater body was found just outside that room while the rest were found dead in the veil room apart from one death eater who had also made it out alive.

Lucius Malfoy, another person who had claimed to be under the effect of the imperious curse. He was found with a broken collarbone, twisted ankle and a black eye. The rest of the death eaters were all dead, and it is believed that one of them was thrown through the veil of death. The increase in magical activity around the veil is what lead to people being alerted of the fight. Once a few ministry officials entered the veil room, all they found was an unconscious Malfoy and a lot of dead death eaters. Including one Bellatrix Lestrange who had according to sources, has had all of her skin burnt off."

The room gasped in horror and shock, all except for Neville who had tears of joy in his eyes. He looked at Ginny, she smiled back, he wiped his tears and paid attention to the radio.

"But that's not even the most interesting part people, when the reporters and ministry officials arrived at the entrance of the ministry along with the minister of magic, they found an unbelievable sight. The vigilante known as Curse along with the dark lord, you-know-who and the headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore, all meters away from each other."

"Oh my god" Hermione whispered

"You-know-who was kneeling on the floor, it looked as if his feet were frozen to the floor. Curse had his wand pointed at him, and it appeared that Dumbledore was trying to negotiate the surrender of both of them. Curse tried to kill you-know-who but was stopped by Dumbledore, he then shot a spell at Dumbledore, fortunately the leader of the light was not hurt"

"Obviously he wasn't hurt" Ron smiled "he's Dumbledore!" A few of the common room, including Hermione glared at him for interrupting.

"You-know-who took advantage of the distraction" They continued listening "he got rid of the ice and went for his wand, then lightning shot from his wand and hit Curse directly. The lightning had pushed Curse back and everyone was suddenly worried, each and every one of us had wondered the same thing. Was this the end, was this the end of the masked anti-hero? Was Curse going to be killed? Apparently not, when Curse was pushed back by the lightning his hood went off and everyone saw his face."

"They saw his face?" Hermione asked in complete shock

"It was amazing people, the lightning looked as if it didn't bother him at all, it flew all around his body like a very fast snake. He looked up, he smiled and winked! He actually smiled and winked at the dark lord himself! Right after he sent the lightning straight back at him and knocked him off his feet, he went flying meters back into the air. Words can't describe the feeling of seeing it in real life, you-know-who escaped did escape however.

Curse chose not to flee, instead he walked straight towards the aurors. Dumbledore tried to converse with him but it appears he was unwilling to do so, auror Kingsley Shacklebolt has taken him away, his trial date is still to be discussed.

And now that ends the news, however before I leave I will answer the unanswered question you all probably have. Who is Curse? Who is the hooded mystery? Who is the man responsible for hunting down and killing death eaters? Who is the man that poses as our guardian angel at night?

Well ladies and gentlemen, allow me to provide you all with the answer to all those questions just before I finish up. Are you ready folks? i still can't believe it and I was there! Curse is non-other than the beloved saviour of the wizarding world and boy-who-lived, that's right people, Curse is in fact Harry James Potter! It appears he has taken the title 'saviour of the wizarding world' to heart and is doing his best to actively protect it. News of his trial will come around shortly, good night folks"

Neville turned the radio off, everyone was silent, a fly's wings could be heard over the amount of noise in the room. Nobody knew what to say, nobody wanted to talk first. The DA members that were present were told what was going to happen but still didn't expect him to actually do it or they really didn't believe he was Curse.

"H…H…Harry is C…Curse" Hermione took a massive breath

"I shared a dorm with a murderer" Ron did the same

"Ron" George whispered "it my have escaped your notice"

"But you're related to a murderer" Fred continued

"As in he is your brother-in-law" George finished

"Ginny" Hermione and Ron turned to the red head who was idly reading a page form her book

"Yeah?" Ginny asked as if everything was normal

"You knew" Hermione accused "you knew all about this didn't you?"

"Yeah" Ginny nodded "and what?"

"Ginny!" Ron shouted "he's a murderer"

"Yes Ronald" Ginny closed her book and looked at her brother and his annoying friend "but he's my murderer"

"Ginny he's dangerous!" Ron argued

"To anybody with a dark mark, but not to me" Ginny said confidently

"Ginny, you need to break up with him!" Hermione ordered "he kills people and he fought Dumbledore! Who knows what he'll do next?!"

"Hermione's right" Ron agreed loudly "you need to break up with him!"

"I would Ron, if not for the fact that I don't want to break up with him" Ginny calmly replied "besides, in case you've forgotten he's my husband and not my boyfriend. I can't really break up with him, can I?"

"Ginny you could divorce him" Hermione pointed out

"Not really Granger" Ginny smiled "there's no such thing as divorce in the magical world, in the muggle world yes, but not in the wizarding world. Besides, like I said, I don't really want to break up with Harry."

"Ginny!" Hermione shrieked "he's a murder"

"You're repeating yourself Granger" Ginny pointed out "besides, Harry only goes after people who deserve it, It's not like he just kills people at random."

"Ginny!" Ron shouted "you are going to listen to me right now! I am your big brother! And I am ordering you to break off from Harry!"

The room went even more silent, everyone prepared for Ginny to hex Ron, Hermione even backed away a little. But surprisingly, Ginny didn't, she stood up slowly with the book still in her hand, she walked over to her brother who was too angry to realise that he was in danger.

"I'd be careful Ron" Ginny spoke slowly, yet her voice was still very scary "Harry hasn't been charged yet and if there is anyone who can get out of this situation, it's Harry, he performs impossible feats on a daily basis. Now take a moment and think, do you really want to order around someone whose known for having a temper AND also has a husband who has fought and beat both Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort? Before you answer, I'd like to remind you that it is common knowledge that Harry would probably destroy the entire castle if it means making me happy" Ginny gave Ron a little smile before walking upstairs.

"She's mental" Ron exclaimed "like there's anyway Harry can get out of this"

"Actually" Neville spoke up "it is pretty possible"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked

"Well it's Harry so it'd be safe to believe that he has a plan in case his identity was revealed and I would not underestimate the man who put Dumbledore in hospital and beat Voldemort. Plus there is the fact that people see Curse as a bit of a hero"

"Hero? What are you on about?!" Ron demanded

"Haven't you ever read a newspaper about Curse?" Seamus asked "they always put him in a good light and make him look like a hero. A lot of people like him"

"It's true" Dean nodded "think about it this way, Curse is a vigilante, which means he doesn't work for anybody but is going after death eaters. That already puts him in a positive light even if you forget the fact that he's responsible for the crime rates decreasing."

"Plus all the aurors love him" Neville added "despite what people say, he's made their jobs easier because they have less death eaters and crime to deal with plus. Which also makes the people feel safer."

"And there is Fudge as well" Dean added "after spending a year saying you-know-who is dead, he's probably really embarrassed that he's been proven wrong."

"Yeah" Neville nodded "I bet a lot of people are probably upset with him about that, so he probably doesn't want to put Harry Potter the boy-who-lived, saviour of the wizarding world and beloved vigilante on trial as well. Face it Ron, Harry is pretty likely to come back to Hogwarts."

Those words were left in the air with most people in that room being confident he would come back while one red headed boy hoped to Merlin that he didn't.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32 – Trial

Ginny admittedly enjoyed the next few days, everybody wanted to talk to her about Harry, fortunately the DA ran interference. Ron and Hermione were kept away by the twins and Malfoy always looked a bit fearful when she approached. Some people offered their support while others were just curious about Harry.

The day before the trial she was called to Dumbledore's office, when she got there she saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk with McGonagall standing next to him. Her parents were standing at the side.

"You wanted to see me Professor Dumbledore?" Ginny asked politely

"Yes, do take a seat Mrs Potter" Ginny did so "would you like a lemon drop?"

"No thank you, Harry told me never to take food from you, something about compulsion charms" Ginny smiled sweetly. Dumbledore gasped for a second before controlling himself.

"Mrs Potter" He said "I've brought you here to discuss your husband"

"I know" Ginny replied "Harry told me before he left that you'd probably want to talk to me about him doing, whatever he went off and did" Of course Ginny knew exactly what he did through the soul bond.

"How much did you know about Harry being Curse?" Dumbledore asked

"I learnt only what he told me" Ginny replied "you can ask him if you want to know"

"Ginny!" Molly shouted "you will answer the headmaster!"

"Why? He's not an auror" Ginny responded calmly "besides I know what he wants, he wants to know information about Harry, and like I said he can find all of that from Harry, providing he wants to tell you of course."

"Mrs Potter, this is serious" Dumbledore spoke in a grandfatherly voice "we cannot help Mr Potter if you don't allow us"

"Help him?" Ginny was confused

"Young Harry has lost his way" Dumbledore shook his head sadly "I simply want to help him. Killing all those people"

"Death eaters" Ginny corrected

"Is not the right way to fight this war" Dumbledore continued as if Ginny hadn't even spoken "Harry is in big trouble. Killing all those people without giving them the chance to repent for their crimes, it's a horrible thing to do. I offered to make myself Mr Potters legal counsel but I am told that he refused, in fact he refused to even have a legal representative."

"Probably wants to represent himself" Ginny shrugged

"Mrs Potter we must work together to stop Harry from going to Azkaban"

"Must we?" Ginny asked "I'm pretty sure he'd love Azkaban"

"I beg your pardon?" Dumbledore was very confused

"Putting Harry in a confined space with a lot of death eaters for him to kill, he'd love it" Ginny explained "I promise you that if he went in there then the prisoner population would decrease"

"Mrs Potter, please, I'm asking you to help me help Harry"

"No" Ginny refused "Harry doesn't want help and I don't think he needs it either, especially not yours"

"But Mrs Potter"

"Headmaster" Ginny interrupted "I'm not revealing anything to you without Harrys consent and I am not convincing Harry to follow you, what he does is up to him, and I'm sorry but you will not change my mind. Now, I'd like to know what my mother and father are doing here"

"You're mother wished to speak with you regarding your relationship to Mr Potter" McGonagall explained

"Ginny" Mrs Weasley spoke whilst Arthur stepped back and gave Ginny an apologetic smile which told her that he'd keep quiet and out of the way, something Ginny appreciated "I know you are fond of Harry"

"Little bit of an understatement considering he's my husband" Ginny interrupted

"Don't interrupt! Like I was saying, I know you care for Harry but this cannot continue. The boy is a criminal, he's clearly going dark. I don't care if you're married or not, you are to break off this relationship with him and return home."

"No"

"What do you mean no?!"

"I mean no" Ginny shrugged "Harry is mine and I am Harrys, I'm with him every step of the way. If he wants to go out and hunt death eaters then he can and I will support his decision, mostly because I don't see anything wrong with it"

"Ginny he's dangerous!" Mrs Weasley argued

"Not to me" Ginny replied "anyone with a snake tattoo, probably, but I'd be willing to actually bet my life that he would never try to harm me. Outside of practise of course but even then he holds back. Listen up mother, you may see a criminal when you look at him but I see a kind man who does what he thinks he has to do"

"Oh please" Mrs Weasley scoffed "he clearly enjoys it"

"I know, good thing too. If he didn't then it would make his life so much more difficult, but either way, I support my husband one hundred percent."

"Enough of this nonsense" Mrs Weasley moved to grab Ginny but was stopped when she heard a hissing sound, she pulled her hand back and quickly stepped away when a snakes head peeped out of Ginny's sleeve. "What is that?"

"Oh mother, you remember Emerald" Ginny stroked the snakes head "I'm sure you do, he's Harrys snake. He ordered him to guard me while he was away, it's a shame I can't understand what he's saying without Harry translating but I have to admit I rather enjoy his company"

"Ginny! Get away from it! It's a dark creature!"

"That's funny seeing as he's never bit a human and the only thing he eats is what Harry or the elves provide for him."

"Ginny, he's corrupting you!" Mrs Weasley screamed in horror

"Oh really?" Ginny asked with an amused voice "Fawkes" Ginny called and the headmasters former Phoenix flamed to her shoulder "mother this is Harrys Phoenix and as you know there is no creature more light then a Phoenix, so tell me, if Harry is such a dark wizard then why does he have a Phoenix that left the headmaster for him?"

Molly sputtered but she found that she couldn't come up with a reply, neither could Dumbledore who was struggling to come up with an argument. Arthur smirked behind his wife's back and McGonagall did the same behind Dumbledore's.

"Now" Ginny continued "if you'll excuse me I have to get some rest as the trial is tomorrow and I want to look good for when my husband is released"

"You and he both seem confident that he will be released" Dumbledore said

"That's because we are, goodbye headmaster"

Fawkes flamed her away, leaving the four adults in the office with a stunned expression. Meanwhile in the prisoner holding cell at the ministry, Harry chuckled after having seen the whole thing from Ginny's mind.

"What's so funny?" The auror on guard duty asked

"Just remembering something funny" Harry replied

"I bet" The auror chuckled "hey, could you come here?" Harry slowly stood up and walked over to the bars, he looked at the auror who was standing just outside the cell. "I've heard rumours that you apparently put Umbridge in a body bind and hit her with some hex that made her bogeys turn into bats and attack her, is that true?"

"Yes…is that a problem?"

"Problem?" The auror laughed "not with me at least, I never liked that bitch."

"You and the majority of people mate" Harry smiled "what's your name?"

"John, Prince. Muggle-born, hope that's not a problem"

"Harry, Potter. Half-blood, hunt a lot of people who do have a problem with that. Though their opinions on blood is not why I'm hunting them"

"You don't need to explain yourself to me mate, as a matter of fact I approve of what your doing, so do most of the people I work with. One or two complain about you thinking you're 'above the law' but as far as I'm concerned you're doing the public a great service"

"Thank you" Harry said sincerely "I don't do this to get liked but it's appreciated all the same"

"Not a problem" John waved a hand "in fact I'd support you but I have a family to provide for and I need this job"

"I understand" Harry nodded "I'm doing this so people like you don't have to, you know how horrible a world is when you could die just because criminals can't stay in prison"

"Too true" John nodded "listen I've got to go, my shift is nearly over but before I do can you do me a favour?"

"I don't know, depends on the favour"

"Could you sign this?" He handed Harry a parchment and pen "you see my daughter is a big fan of yours"

"No problem mate" Harry chuckled and signed it "fair warning to you, at the trial I'm going to act my socks off so I hope your opinion of me doesn't change."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say I'm planning to make an impression"

Soon came the day of Harrys trial, he was lead to the court by a couple of aurors. Behind them were two dementors, in front of him was another couple of aurors. The doors opened and he was lead to the chair in the centre of the court. As soon as he was sat in it, the chains from the chair wrapped around him. He shook his head with amusement and looked around.

He saw Ginny in the stands with the rest of the DA and Sirius and Remus, Hermione and Ron were there as well, clearly curious about what was going on. So was the Weasley family, apart from Bill and Charlie. He looked around and took in the faces, he saw Daphne's father Cyrus, Amelia bones, Neville's grandmother, Dolores Umbridge, minister Fudge and Percy who had to be there as his assistant and quite a few others that he didn't know.

There was also a ton of reporters and the photographers, in fact this room was as packed as it could be. He looked at the judge, an old stern looking man.

"Order" The judge demanded in a no-nonsense voice as he slammed his hammer down "Let us begin, this is the trial of one Harry James Potter"

"Witness for the defence" Dumbledore called out as he walked up and stood beside Harry "Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore"

"No" Harry shouted

"What do you mean 'no'?" The judge asked

"I mean he is not my legal representative, in fact I already refused his offer to be my legal representative"

"Harry please see reason" Dumbledore spoke in a horrified voice

"Listen Albus Wulfric Percival Brian too-many-names Dumbledore, I don't need nor want your help. I'm confident I will walk out of here on my own feet and will be a free man"

"But Harry…"

"Dumbledore" The judge interrupted "it's clear that Mr Potter does not wish for you to represent him, go and have a seat or be removed from the court." Dumbledore sighed and did as he was ordered.

"Mr Potter" The judge continued "you are charged with multiple cases of using the unforgivable curses, multiple cases of assault, torture and murder. How do you plead?"

"Guilty" Harry smiled, the crowd all gasped in shock, Ginny looked amused while Ron looked somewhat relieved "however" Harry added "I will not be charged"

"Enough of this nonsense" Dolores Umbridge shouted "the boy has admitted to his crimes, he should be sent off to Azkaban"

"You're honour" Harry spoke politely "may I say something? I wish to make a statement, and once I am done then I would like to give you evidence that could change this entire case"

"You may"

"Thank you, I just wanted to say something. Those people, the ones I put down, the ones I hurt, the ones I killed" Harry spoke in a soft voice, he looked around at everyone and saw that he had all of their attention "I just wanted to let you all know…I would gladly do it all again"

The court burst into noise, people booed and cheered, the aurors which included Tonks and Moody had to try and get everyone under control. The judge slammed his hammer down repeatedly and demanded silence.

"This is a joke" Harry continued "this is a circus, this a play, this an act. It's rubbish about how crazy I am, I'm not crazy, I'm not. I'm many things, but I am not crazy. I'm in the middle of my right goddamn mind and any lowlife, any death eater, any corrupt and evil piece of shit that I put down, I did it because I liked it! In fact I loved it! I can't wait to do it again and I'm going to do it again! I promise you that I am going to do it again!

What? You all think you can send me to some mental health clinic? Some healer is going to stop me from doing what needs to be done, from doing what I have to do and what I want to do? I'm sorry but that's not happening, you think you can send me to Azkaban? You think you can the dementors are going to hold me down? Let me show you all why that's not going to work"

Harry clicked his fingers and the two dementors glided over to him, the aurors were about to stop them when the dementors removed the shackles and freed him.

"Thank you" Harry stood up, the dementors bowed their heads before they returned to their positions at the back of the court room, the whole room was in complete and utter silence "as you can see, Azkaban's not going to work for me"

"Mr Potter" The Judge spoke bravely "what is the point of this?"

"I'm bored" Harry smiled "either way, like I said I have something that will change this entire case. Fawkes!" Fawkes flamed to Harry, surprising the whole court once more. Fawkes handed him piece of paper before he flamed away.

"This ladies and gentlemen" Harry raised the paper in the air "is what will free me."

"What is it?" The judge asked

"Your honour" Harry replied "I promise you that this piece of paper is important. In fact I, Harry James Potter, do hereby swear on my life and magic that the information in this document is real, so mote it be" A bright light flashed around Harry, signalling that it he is not lying "now your honour, I am willing to show this to one member of the court as long as they make an unbreakable vow not to share or tell anyone about the contents without my express permission."

"Why on earth would we agree to this?" The judge asked

"Simple" Harry paced back and forth "this one document, could change the whole of wizarding Britain and massively effect the war with Voldemort"

"Your honour" Dumbledore stood up and raised his hand "I would be willing to make the vow"

"Denied" Harry refused "I am not showing this to you"

"But Harry…"

"I would however be willing to show the following to either Lord Greengrass, Lady Longbottom or Lady Bones"

"Why those three?" The judge asked curiously

"I know their children" Harry answered and have met them all at least once "they are fair and honest people, I trust my friends and they trust them. I'd be willing to allow one of them to make the vow and read this"

"I shall do it" Lord Greengrass stood up "my daughters speak highly of this man and I find both to be good judges of character. He has also helped my family in a highly personal matter despite having no obligations to do so, if he says that document is important then I believe him."

"Very well" The judge nodded "is that acceptable to you Mr Potter?"

"Yes, thank you Lord Greengrass, could you please come to me and make the vow? I'd rather not have anyone reading over your shoulder"

"A wise idea" Greengrass agreed and made his way over to Harry "I, Lord Cyrus Greengrass, do swear on my life and magic that I will not reveal the contents of the document I am about to be handed by Harry James Potter, without Mr Potters permission. So mote it be" The lights flared around him before dying down, signalling that the vow has been made. Harry handed the document to Greengrass who read through it. His eyes widened as he did.

"Amazing" He breathed "absolutely amazing, I cannot believe this. Impressive! I…there are no words to describe this"

"Lord Greengrass" The judge interrupted "what is it?"

"You can only reveal the how this affects the case" Harry said

"R…right" Lord Greengrass composed himself "I must say Harry my daughters were right about you, your honour, according to this document in front of me, young Mr Potter is fully allowed and permitted to do whatever he wants without punishment"

"What rubbish is this?" Umbridge screamed "the boy should be charged and …"

"Madam secretary!" The judge ceased her rant "you will cease your shouting unless you wished to be removed from court, Mr Greengrass can you add to your statement?"

"Yes your honour, Mr Potter is permitted to do whatever he wants to do whether it breaks a rule or not, you cannot charge him, magic itself has given him permission to be above the law. I swear on my magic I am not lying, if Mr Potter so wished he could kill everyone in this room without punishment and he could even cheat on every school exam without the possibility of getting detention"

"This is ridiculous!" One member of the court exclaimed

"Yet it's true" Harry said with a smug face, he took the document back from Lord Greengrass and gave him an appreciative nod "so you see, your honour, magic itself has given me free rein. Those crimes I committed, you can't charge me with them. I have sworn on my life and magic that the document was real, and Mr Greengrass has also sworn that it's real.

You can try and get the information out of him but he can't tell, even if you use truth serum or legilimency, magic will stop you from finding out. Now, we have a choice your honour, you can lengthen this trial or we could just end it without fuss."

"Very well" The judge grumbled, but Harry could see the slight upward curve in his lips "if you were permitted by magic itself then the voting system becomes pointless, Harry James potter, you are acquitted of all crimes past, present and future." The judge slammed his hammed won.

"Thank you" Harry grinned "but I'm not done, I'd like to charge Dolores Umbridge with child abuse and the illegal use of a blood quill"

The crowd fell into shock for the hundredth time that day, they all looked to Dolores Umbridge and Fudge who both paled. Harry walked over to Neville who handed him a stack of documents, Daphne then placed a vial on top of the documents. Harry walked to Amelia bones and handed her the documents and vials.

"Mrs Bones" Harry spoke respectfully "those are signed statements from students in Hogwarts and pensive memories, I'd also like Dolores Umbridge to be questioned under Veritaserum"

"How dare you?!" Umbridge screamed "I am…" She was cut off by Harry who whistled, the two Dementors flew up into the room and grabbed Umbridge, they pulled her away from everyone else and threw her into the chair which held her down with chains.

"Alright then" Harry walked over to Umbridge, he called for Stink and told him to bring some of the potion, Stink did so and Harry made Umbridge drink some.

"So Dolores" Harry spoke casually "did you use blood quills on students of Hogwarts?"

"Yes, I did"

"Did the minister know?"

"Yes, yes he did. In fact, he encouraged it" Fudge lowered his head, wishing that he could disappear or at the very least shut the bitch up.

"What other illegal and bad things have you done that the minister knows about?" Harry glanced at the pale Fudge before looking back at Umbridge

"Many things" She answered "I've bribed, taken money from lower employees and the ministry funds, but he had done the same. I've also blackmailed and threatened multiple ministry workers, and have used those tactics to stop laws that I don't like from getting passed, such as laws to help werewolves and other half breeds."

"Aren't you lovely?" Harry asked sarcastically "but one important question, are you a death eater or do you work intentionally work for Voldemort?" He flipped his wrist and his wand came to him.

"Why wasn't his wand taken from him?" One person asked

"We couldn't sir" An auror answered "his holster, turned invisible and we couldn't get it out of it no matter what we did."

"No" Umbridge shook her head "while I agree with many of his ideals, I dislike him due to his willingness to use werewolves and giants and other undesirable creatures."

"Ah damn it Dolores, you warthog faced imbecile" Harry stomped his foot "I needed an excuse to kill you, never mind, I'll settle for this"

Harry punched Umbridge in the face, blood squirted out and she fell unconscious. Many people in the court had different feelings about what they saw, some had a hatred of Umbridge and Fudge, some were amazed by Harry, some were terrified of him but mostly they were all jealous about how he got to hit Umbridge.

"Now" Harry turned to the court "I'll be leaving now, come on Ginny. Oh and Dumbledore you can send my exam results to my godfathers house, me and Ginny will not attend tomorrows leaving feast."

"Mr Potter" The judge spoke "what would you have done if everyone refused to make the vow and you were sent to Azkaban?"

"I'd escape" Harry said as if it was obvious "See you sir, come on Gin, we're going now"

Ginny leaped over the barricade and wrapped Harry in a hug, he reached a hand in the air and a Fawkes appeared momentarily before flaming the two away.

"So Ron" Neville whispered while everyone else was silent "don't you think it's lovely how Harry can now do pretty much whatever he wants without consequence?" Ron didn't answer, he just gulped.

The next day at Hogwarts Gryffindor won the house cup and quidditch cup, again, but that's not what was important. Everyone was talking about Harry, McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout didn't even bother to stop them. They actually stopped teaching during lessons and even began conversing with the students about it, Dumbledore didn't even bother with his end of year speech.

Once the summer holidays started a meeting of the order was called at 12 Grimmauld Place, Hermione and Ron were sent to their room along. The twins weren't there however, they had left their mother and moved into their shop in Diagon Alley.

Before the meeting started, Dumbledore went upstairs to talk to Ron and Hermione about Harry, those two didn't know anything so he went back down. As soon as he entered the kitchen he saw many of the order members standing stiffly, some even had their wands out, he turned to see the reason for this sitting in the chair he normally sat in during the meetings.

"Good morning" Harry said cheerfully, he was leaning back in the chair with his feet on the table whilst wearing his Curse costume but with the hood down. "Nice weather today, bit hot though. So, how are we all?"

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke "what are you doing here?"

"Sitting" Harry gestured to the chair he was sat on "in case any of you have forgotten, this is my godfathers house and as he is the closest thing I have to a father and I am the closest he has to a son, I'd like to believe that I'm allowed to be here."

"You have some nerve" Mrs Weasley growled "showing up here after all you did"

"Careful Mrs Weasley" Harry smiled "Kreatcher can still toss you out if you raise your voice"

"It's good to see you again kiddo" Sirius ruffled Harrys hair

"You too Padfoot, hey Moony"

"Hello Harry" The werewolf replied

"Harry" Dumbledore said "we need to discuss your actions. Where were you?"

"After I left the court room, I took Ginny to America, we saw many muggle attractions. We're hoping to see the American magical world during our next visit. It was quite enjoyable, now shall we cut to the chase? Dumbledore, you were about to lecture me"

"Harry" Dumbledore began "you must stop all of this nonsense, we cannot simply kill all of our enemies"

"I agree" Harry replied

"You do?" Dumbledore asked, he thought he had to do a lot more persuading then that

"I totally agree, I don't kill all of my enemies. I've left Umbridge alive, I haven't killed Draco Malfoy or Hermione Granger or the youngest male Weasley. Despite the incredibly tempting feeling to do so, actually I probably could do that now, curse them all for not giving me sufficient reason. Anyway the only people I kill are death eaters"

"Harry this is wrong" Dumbledore said stubbornly "these people deserve a second chance to redeem themselves"

"No they don't, these people don't deserve second chances. At least not all of them, Snape, he deserved the second chance. He saw what he did was wrong and tried to get out of it, there might be a few more but I doubt it. Cases like Snape are very rare, the majority of people who join Voldemort do it because they like doing it or because they liked what he allowed them to do. Snape is the exception, not the rule when we're talking about death eaters.

Nobody is capable or willing to do what needs to be done to stop them, I am, and I will stop them."

"Harry…"

"No headmaster, I will not argue with you. I came here to show Sirius something, Sirius look at this."

Harry extended his left hand and a bow appeared from it, the bow was brown and thin and covered in golden patterns. It screamed powerful and accurate to all those who saw it.

"I wanted your opinion" Harry spoke "I got this from the centaurs in the forbidden forest during my first year, it's unbreakable and it makes its own arrows. I've never had much use of it in the past, do you think Curse could use it?"

"Hell yeah" Sirius examined the bow "you know how awesome it'd be if you took out death eaters with just a bow and some arrows."

"Well expect to hear about it in the next news report. If you don't mind now, I'll leave"

"Wait" Dumbledore ordered "Harry, this is serious"

"No, he is" Harry pointed at Sirus, Remus smiled while Sirius muttered something along the lines of 'just like James'.

"I'm not joking Harry, you are going to stay here and talk to me."

"Go on then" Harrys bow disappeared and he placed his hands on the back of his head in a relaxed manner "I have a minute or two to spare"

"What was that document you had at court? Why have you been proclaimed to be above the law?"

"Because I am. I am above the law, I can do whatever I want and none of you can say anything. Even if by some miracle you manage to stop me, you can't hand me over to the government, they'd just let me go. You could put me in a personal prison that nobody knows about, but I can guarantee I will escape. You're only option after that is to kill me and we all know you won't do that, so you're pretty screwed.

As for that document, I could tell you, but I won't. Here's a hint, it's nothing evil." Harry internally laughed at that, while the soul bond was not evil, it is considered dark and because Dumbledore can't tell the difference he'd never look up anything related to dark magic "I'd like to see you try and figure it out, congratulations if you do, but I won't give you the answer. It's more fun to watch you fail to figure it out."

"You will tell me and you will tell me now!" Dumbledore demanded, the other order members were a little bit intimidated by the magic pouring out from him.

"Nah" Harry replied "I don't want to. You can puff up all you like headmaster but I've already beaten you, and you can't even punish me for it. Face it Dumbles, I'm out of your control."

"Harry! You must work with me! We need to work together for the greater good!"

"Fuck your greater good!" Harry snapped "I don't trust you Dumbledore! Is the 'greater good' what you were thinking about when you left me with those muggles who would have killed me if my magic hadn't kept me alive?! Did you place those magical, physical and blocks on me for the greater good?! Let's count the things you've done for the greater good Albus.

Place me with magic hating relatives, place illegal blood wards around the house, place illegal blocks on me, hide my inheritance, take money from my accounts without my permission or knowledge, make a marriage contract concerning me without permission or knowledge from my parents or me, a contract which sends half of my money and possessions to you in the event of my death, do nothing to get my innocent godfather out of Azkaban and on multiple occasions you tried to send me back to my abusive relatives.

You've also repeatedly tried to read my wife's mind, you've refused to take action against students in the school that pose a danger to others in the hopes that they'll reform and change without punishment, you've allowed Voldemorts forces to get stronger during the last war due to your inability to do more than stun and bind. In my first year you didn't notice that Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort or you ignored that fact and you let him try to steal the philosopher stone, a rare and highly valuable artefact that you tried to hide in a school full of children.

Fifty plus years ago you let Hagrid take the blame for the chamber of secrets while Tom Riddle who we both know as Voldemort was given an award for services to the school, you've allowed the school house rivalry to get to the point where students actually hate each other for wearing different coloured clothes, you've butchered the education of countless students, I was even entered into the triwizard tournament against my will because you didn't have sufficient defences to stop Barty crouch Junior from putting my name in, speaking of Barty, you let another servant of Voldemort teach in the school!

Didn't you ever notice it wasn't Moody? I've only known Moody for a little bit but even I can see the subtle differences between the two, didn't you think the fact that Barty didn't constantly look around the hall during lunch was a bit odd for someone as paranoid as Moody? No offence by the way.

I'm sorry Dumbledore, actually I'm not but still, I don't know what your intentions are and you're costing people their lives. I'd rather evil scumbags get buried then innocent children who have to die because that scumbag couldn't stay in Azkaban."

Harry stood up, he glared at Dumbledore before he left. The order was in shock, many began doubting their leader, some not even for the first time.

"It's never boring when Harry is around" Sirius broke the silence

"Too true" Remus conceded

"Today's meeting is cancelled" Dumbledore stormed off in a fit of rage.

The marauders took a break from watching the life of Harry Potter and processed what was going on. They were stuck somewhere between absolute disbelief and pure pride.

"My son's a badass" James smiled smugly "a death eater hunting bad ass who managed to shake up the entire wizarding world"

"My son…beat…Dumbledore" Lily gasped "that….is awesome!"

"I think Dumbledore is close to his breaking point" Sirius grinned "just a little more effort and he'll have a mental breakdown"

"Did you see the look on Umbridge's face?" Remus smiled "I'm very jealous over the fact that you chose Sirius to be his godfather instead of me"

"Too late, no take backs" Sirius smiled "I'm godfather of the century to the saviour of the wizarding world and there is nothing you can do about it. You'll have to stick with being uncle Moony"

"By the way" James interrupted "is anyone a little worried about Harrys love of hurting and killing? Not saying he's evil or anything, just wondering?"

"I don't know" Lily thought about it "I mean, I've read that powerful wizards usually enjoy combat as it makes them feel more powerful"

"I think it's like with me" Remus spoke "when I transform at night, Moony takes over and my basic wolf instincts are unleashed. With Harry, when he fights and deals with death eaters he switches off the kind Harry and lets the other Harry take over. I think Lily is right, it is common for powerful magic users to enjoy combat. Plus as long as Harry restricts himself to harming death eaters I don't really see a problem with it. And like we said before, Ginny will knock some sense into him if he does stray off the path."

"This is really weird" Lily leaned back "knowing your son is above the law and kills people…but still knowing he's right and needs to do it. Come on then, let's keep watching."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33 –

Voldemort sat in the dark, pondering over what happened. The other death eaters were deadly quiet, no one dared to speak. Voldemort was left wondering, how had the boy gotten so strong? To beat Albus was an accomplishment, to beat himself was impossible yet the boy had done it at such a young age.

He had to be dealt with, the boy was a threat. The news of him being permitted to do whatever he wanted made him much worse. As long as Potter was alive, his followers fear was divided between Potter and himself. He couldn't have that, Potter made him look weak, he needed to be taken care of.

"Hello" A voice caught his attention, Severus Snape walked in with a black owl on his shoulders, the owl had a letter in its beak. Slowly and calmly he walked in, as if he owned the damn place, even his owl which was looking around a lot, looked calm. A few death eaters stepped forward, Snape stood in the centre of the room with three death eaters in front of him and one just behind him.

"Severus" Voldemort spoke quietly but loud enough to be heard "how nice of you to join us at last, may I inquire as to where you have been? You have not answered my call for quite some time" Everyone knew that this was Voldemort speech for 'make your excuse and I will probably torture you anyway'.

"There would be a reason for that" Snape replied "I no longer work for you" Snape exposed his arm, revealing that there was no longer a dark mark "my new employer has had it removed for me"

The other death eaters were taken by surprise, wondering if the potion master had lost his mind, what he was doing now was basically committing suicide. Voldemort was downright furious, but he couldn't afford to lose his composure in front of his followers.

"Such a pity Severus, your information and potions were most valuable" Voldemort slowly raised his wand

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Snape stopped him "believe me when I say I am in no way happy at having to look at your repulsive and disgusting face, however I am here because my employer has requested me to be"

"Did he now?" Voldemort slowly lowered his wand, picturing himself torturing Snape as he did so "why has your 'employer' sent you?"

"He has asked me to confirm you received this"

Snape removed the letter from the owl and handed it to one of the death eaters, the death eater slowly made his way to Voldemort and handed him the letter. Voldemort opened the letter when it flew into the air and hovered just in front of his face, the letter formed into a mouth. It was clear that it was a howler.

"Hello Tom" Potters voice came from the howler "just in case you couldn't work it out, I am Harry Potter. Also known as Curse, the-boy-who-lived, saviour of the wizarding world, Witch Weekly's sexiest celebrity of the year, that's a new one that I got this year. Oh, and I'm also the guy who beat you four times. The first when I was one, as I'm sure you remember, the second when I was eleven and you possessed Quirrell.

The third would be in that graveyard, now you'll probably use the excuse of the ritual but it still counts. The fourth and most recent, our little match at the ministry, I would have decapitated you if it wasn't for the fact that Dumblesloth arrived. Doesn't matter, my identity may have been revealed but so was your return.

Do you know that the people are starting to call me the 'Lightning Curse' thanks to your little lightning attack? Now I'm sure you're wondering what is the point of this, and I will tell you, personally. Shortly after this letter finishes, Snape will be port keyed away and I will enter the room and we can chat.

P.S Hoot hoot bitch"

The letter began destroying itself, Voldemort looked at Snape, whose lips had curled upwards. He looked at the owl, the last part of the letter played into his head. The owl, Voldemort noticed it for the first time, it had green eyes, it raised its wings. Before Voldemort could say anything it jumped off of Snape, who had port keyed away the instant it did.

The owl transformed into Curse, who flipped in mid-air and when he landed he killed the two death eaters in front of him at the same time by slamming a silver knife into each of them. The death eater behind him quickly moved to get his wand, but Curse was quicker, he stepped back and without looking he kicked the death eater in the face with a back kick. The death eater fell unconscious to the floor, that didn't stop Curse who took out his wand and shot the death eater with the killing curse before blasting the death eater that had given Voldemort the letter. He turned to Voldemort, and lowered his wand and hood, revealing Potters smug face.

"Hello Tom" Potter smiled

"Potter" Voldemort spoke slowly "what are you doing here?"

"I came to give you a message" Potter answered "a few messages actually. The first being you're an ugly piece of shit"

"How flattering" Voldermort sarcastically replied

"The second message is a reminder that I am permitted to do whatever I want, so warn your death eaters to stay out of my way because unlike them I don't have to worry about getting in trouble with the ministry. And the third message can be considered as an offer or a challenge."

"You have my undivided attention, go on"

"As you saw, there is a way to get rid of the dark mark. It's a potion that I developed, I've had Snape brew it for me. Here is what I propose, I make a public offer to have the mark removed and if they do so then they will be put on trial with the guarantee of not being executed. This offer will last for about three months before it is removed. I'm asking you to allow that to happen, any who do, let them leave. Frankly if they chose to leave you then you're wasting time stopping them. I doubt many will leave but I would like it if those who do leave are left to rot in Azkaban."

"An interesting proposition, I don't know why but I am inclined to agree" This wouldn't be a big loss, he doubts more than a ten if any would take the proposal. "If any wish to take your proposal then I will let them, providing I don't find out about it before they do it. Then I will kill them, I must maintain my image, I'm sure you understand. Now, is that all?"

"Just last thing before I leave. The final message is I will kill you"

"Will you?" Voldemort asked in an amused tone, in truth he wasn't worried. He had his horcruxes and Potter would never realise they exist. Almost as if he was reading Voldemorts mind, Harry reached into his robes then tossed something which landed in front of Voldemorts feet.

Voldemort picked it up, he was in complete shock, in front of him was his Hogwarts diary. It looked to have a big hole in it, Voldemort scanned it, he couldn't find himself in it or any magical energy.

"I know all about your Horcruxes" Harry spoke "I will destroy them, every single one of them. Enjoy your time as much as you can Tom, you never know how long it will take me to get them all, then once I do you will be vulnerable. You'll be vulnerable and scared and I will come for you then" In truth Harry had all of the horcruxes already and was waiting to destroy them but he wasn't going to let Voldemort know that, even if he destroyed them he still had to deal with Voldemorts back up plan.

Voldemort was furious, he tossed the diary with a rage unmatched by anyone and roared in anger. He pulled his wand out, and aimed it at Potter, only to find that the cocky brat had disappeared. Voldemort was so furious that he was likely to kill the first person he saw.

"My lord" A death eater spoke as he entered holding a tray of food "I've brought your lunch" Voldemort grinned as the man approached.

"Nagini" Voldemort spoke to his snake in parsletounge "allow me to prepare dinner for you"

No sooner than the second after the man had put the tray down, Voldemort shot him with a killing curse. Nagini slithered slowly, she widened her jaw and dug in.

Meanwhile Dumbledore was sat in his office, frankly he was very worried. He had just read a newspaper that told people that Harry had managed to kill ten death eaters with just a bow and some arrows. Dumbledore wondered where everything had gone so wrong.

Harry was placed with the Dursley's so he could stay away from fame, then when he entered the wizarding world he was supposed to see him as a grand light wizard who deserved respect and could be trusted. Harry never trusted him, something Dumbledore always found curious. In his first year he was supposed to befriend Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, those two were supposed to keep him in the light, but instead of befriending them he befriended Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and nearly everyone else besides them.

By the end of his first year the whole school had grown to respect him, he did pass Dumbledore's test with the philosopher stone but he ended up destroying it. He also refused to go back to the Dursley's and had even taken Fawkes with him. Something Dumbledore now believes he did on purpose, before the start of the second year Dumbledore had heard about Lucius Malfoy confronting the Weasley family in Diagon alley. He had asked Molly Weasley for a pensive memory of it and saw Lucius placing the diary in young Ginny's cauldron.

He left the memory, he suspected that the diary was one of Toms horcruxes and would probably be used to find the chamber of secrets again, Dumbledore had never managed to find the chamber and if it was found then it could have been a great task for Harry. Even if it wasn't it a horcrux, it was likely a dark artefact and Dumbledore could have seen how Harry would have reacted to it harming Ginny.

However nothing happened, the only things that happened that year was Harry 'unintentionally' finding Peter Pettigrew and freeing Sirius, Harry getting Lockhart fired and arrested, the incident in which he nearly killed Malfoy and the fact that he started dating the youngest Weasley which at the time made him ecstatic as the Weasleys were a known light family.

In Harry's third year he had resisted a love potion, nearly killed Malfoy again, attacked Dumbledore when he tried to read Ginny's mind and took Dumbledore and the Dursley's to court. Dumbledore had become so stressed that he forgot to organise another challenge for Harry, in his fourth year Harry was entered into the tri-wizard tournament. He was supposed to be hated by the school, then rise above the hate like a true champion of the light but instead he was loved by all. He made that magical vow and everyone saw him as a victim who was forced to compete.

When he did compete he made every single task look like a joke, then he battled Voldemort at the end of the year. But he refused to tell anyone about that or the fact that he had secretly married Ginny. In his fifth year Umbridge appeared to be attacking everyone but him, meanwhile Dumbledore was concerned with Curse.

The vigilante was described as ruthless and merciless, only ever leaving a single person alive and that person was always on the brink of death, they managed to stay alive long enough to say who had done it. One even managed to give the aurors a pensive memory of the attack, Dumbledore managed to get his hands on it and was impressed by what he saw. He knew that Curse would be a valuable asset to whichever side he chose, he had planned to recruit him when Curse brought himself to the great hall with a dead death eater.

Dumbledore's biggest embarrassment was the fact that Curse had beat him with a plate, throughout the year Dumbledore was also wondering why Harry hadn't been having dreams about Voldemort. Even if he was a master at occlumency he should still be experiencing the visions thanks to the horcrux, when he found out that Arthur was attacked and saved he was happy as that meant that Harry had to have had a vision and told people about it.

He was however surprised when he found out that Curse was the one who saved him and that opened a boatload of new theories for Dumbledore, soon the end of the year approached and Dumbledore was wondering when Voldemort would make his move. He was pondering over what to make about Harrys refusal to start the defence group he told Miss Granger to convince him to start when one day Granger and Weasley burst into his office, it took him a while to remove the silencing charms that had been placed on them but he got it done.

That was when he found out that Harry was heading to the ministry and knew about the prophecy, he quickly rushed there and found Voldemort was about to be blasted by Curse. His horror and shock shot up like a rocket when he found out that Harry was Curse, Harry refused his help at the trial and somehow managed to be given permission to do whatever he wanted and Dumbledore wanted desperately to know how he did it with the hopes of finding a counter to it.

His hint at it not being evil didn't prove to be very helpful, Dumbledore had himself, Granger and the order look through all the light books they could find and nobody was coming up with anything. The ministry wasn't of any help either, Dumbledore knew Harry was powerful and to have beaten both himself and Voldemort made him a danger, a very big danger. He needed to get Harry under control or risk another dark lord, he couldn't ask Ginny Potter as she would refuse and he couldn't take a direct approach, or use Weasley and Granger, the rest of the school was also loyal to him. He just couldn't figure out what to do.

On the day of the students return to Hogwarts the students searched the train with the hopes of finding Harry and Ginny but they couldn't. At the sorting feast, nobody could see them there, once the sorting had finished Dumbledore stood up to say something. Preparing to make a speech when the doors opened and revealed Harry and Ginny.

The two slowly walked forwards, both of them were radiating power and respect, leaving everyone else in awe. Ginny took a seat at the table while Harry made his way up to the head table, he jumped on the head table and knocked Dumbledore's goblet down, which caused juice to land on Dumbledore's white robes. Harry smirked, he and Dumbledore knew that Harry was now above all laws and rules and couldn't be punished. Harry turned to the crowd of students whilst still standing on the table. He spread his arms out, as if he was taking in the air and emotions of the people in front of him.

"I'm back bitches!" Harry shouted, the whole hall burst into applause and cheering, even most of the Slytherin table. Clapping, whooping and cheering were all heard, the teachers had to resist the urge to join in. a few minutes later the noise died down, Harry flipped off the table and landed just in front of it. He took a step forward and addressed the hall.

"Hi everybody, for those of you don't know me, I am Harry Potter. Student, rule breaker, vigilante and guy who does impossible things daily just for fun. I thought I'd clear something up today, I've already made a statement to the daily prophet but I figured you all should know personally.

The reason that I never told people that Voldemort had returned was because I knew the ministry would try to cover it up and discredit me, something which would have made the whole thing pointless. For those of you who haven't worked it out, Fudge was an idiot and the fact that he was minister is an insult to the whole of Britain. I can safely reveal it now as nobody can deny it and the new minister is not Fudge, I don't know if he is another idiot as our few meeting shave been brief, he seems alright but I will reserve judgement. At the very least, he can't be worse than Fudge and his pet toad, who I happened to have got sent to Azkaban!" Once again the room cheered, expressing its love of Harry and hatred of Umbridge.

"Thank you" Harry continued "now I just want to say a few things before I sit down, the first is welcome first years. Your lives are now interesting, congratulations. The second is that I want all of you to start learning some defence, the basics at the very least. I may be out there hunting death eaters but I can't protect you all, I'm not telling any of you to join me, in fact don't join me. I can get away with it but none of you lot can, but back to my original point, learn to defend yourself.

A few of the students are holding a defence club called the DA, I will temporarily be in charge of the club but my lovely wife will be the one responsible for the day to day teaching. Don't worry, she's probably the strongest witch here and she knows more than enough to get you guys to a good enough level to defend yourself. Trust me, I have trained her and she is more than capable of handling any of you who wish to join. For those who were in the DA last year, we won't be using the same place as last time as I'd like to still keep that a secret. I will send notices to the common rooms once a new location has been decided. I should let you know that me and Ginny plan to take our exams early and leave school this year" The crowd were stunned into silence, many of them hating the idea of school without Harry and Ginny.

"Once we do then Neville will take over the club, trust me he's qualified enough for it. The reason me and Ginny want to leave early is because death eaters don't hunt themselves, or at least, that's what we're led to believe. Once that's done we might come back, if you all miss us enough that is.

While I'm here, some of you may remember the Weasley twins. Well, those jokers have only gone up and built a joke shop, they do owl delivery and make good quality products for those of you who are interested in buying.

Now that is all from me, I hope you guys have a good time and let's just skip the headmasters yearly speech because I'm pretty sure we're all hungry. I'll give you all a brief overview, don't go to the forbidden forest, don't use magic in the corridors which is pointless in saying because you're going to use it anyway and a few random words. Mine are marmalade, snow and trifle. Now, let's tuck in"

Harry clapped his hands and the food appeared on the table, Harry walked back and sat next to Ginny, leaving a stunned Dumbledore and a few teachers who were laughing y on the inside whilst using every bit of effort to keep a shocked or neutral expression.

As Harry and Ginny were still prefects, it was their job to lead the first years to the dormitories, the first years were all really shy. Harry briefly wondered if it was because they were led by a famous, vigilante responsible for beating the headmaster and Voldemort. 'Probably not' he thought.

Later when all the first years had gone up, the rest of the common room came in. Harry was greeted with cheering, hugs and praise from his fellow students. Neville especially, Harry had to assume that it was due to what he did to Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Are you two really leaving?" Neville asked

"Yeah, I contacted the ministry" Harry replied "I arranged a few things and Ginny took her owl exams over the summer, we're both going to take our newt exams in a month or two. Then we're gone"

"Good riddance" Came an all too familiar voice, Ron walked in with Hermione behind him "the sooner you're gone the better, can't believe I have to stay in the castle with a murderer"

"Careful Ron" Harry smiled evilly "this murderer could kill you right here and now and get away with it. Should I hang your body in the great hall? or would you prefer right here in the common room? Perhaps I could throw you to the giant colony of giant spiders in the forbidden forest? According to Hagrid, the head acromantula is the size of an elephant" Ron stepped back a bit and in a rare moment of intelligence decided to shut up. Hermione, however, didn't share that moment.

"Harry, you can't threaten him"

"Yes he can" Ginny supportively held Harrys arm "according to those rules you love so much, Harry can officially do whatever he wants. He can skip class, disturb whoever he wants and even leave the school whenever he wants."

"Harry, listen to me" Hermione ignored Ginny "you need to stop this, I know you think that you're doing a good thing but you need to stop all of this mindless killing" The entire common room looked like they were about to say something but they all decided, almost telepathically, that Harry could handle it.

"The people I kill are killed for a reason" Harry replied "rapist, murderers and people who ruin lives just because they can. I do it because those people need to be stopped"

"I think you're wrong Harry" Hermione stubbornly responded "maybe this isn't just about justice, maybe this is about you having an excuse to do what you want. An excuse to hurt and kill people, maybe you just can't stop yourself"

"I don't want to stop. I really don't, yes, I like killing death eaters but I promised myself that I would never kill anyone innocent."

"What happens when the death eaters are gone then?" Hermione argued "when you no longer have death eaters to kill then what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to sleep" Harry answered "I'm going to sleep, eat, wake up, go to work and maybe watch a few quidditch matches. When they're all gone, I'll finally get to have a nice and peaceful life"

"Harry, you know that this killing is wrong. Why can't you just stun them and hand them to the ministry?"

"Because Hermione" Harry was starting to get annoyed "if that had worked then we would have won the last war easily, if that had worked then Voldemort would never had gotten as strong as he is now or had as many followers, if that had worked then I wouldn't be an orphan right now.

I'm fighting fire with fire, the death eaters fear Voldemort more than the ministry, I've given them someone new to fear. I've made an announcement, you'll probably hear about it in tomorrow's edition of the prophet, I've offered a potion that removes the dark mark. If the person excepts then the mark goes and they'll be trialled by the ministry.

It's a deal I made with the new minister of magic and Amelia bones, head of the DMLE. I'm giving people a chance to remove the mark and face trial, if they don't take the chance then as far as me and the ministry are concerned, they're fair game."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked

"Like I said, I talked with the new minister and Amelia Bones, the both of them know they can't stop me. Legally or otherwise, so they agreed to my plan as they figured it'd be better to help instead of doing nothing. They can't stop me from hunting death eaters and they said that if it wasn't illegal for them, then they would probably be using the same methods as me. So as you can see, I have the support of the majority of the school and the ministry"

"What's to stop you from becoming the next dark lord?" Hermione questioned "you could probably become worse than Voldemort if you wanted, you need to join with Dumbledore, he can guide you properly."

"You're right Hermione" Harry smiled "I could become the next dark lord if I wanted, fortunately I don't want to, it might have to do with the current one putting me off from the idea or maybe the fact that ruling over a bunch of mindless minions and harming innocent people just doesn't do it for me.

As for Dumbledore, him and his order can go and retire as far as I'm concerned. Thanks to Dumbledore's orders and rules they're about as useless as a wet paper bag and each and every member of it is about as valuable as one as far as Dumbledore cares. I've seen the order, all that talent under all those restrictions, it breaks my heart to see such valuable people go to waste."

"That's not true" Hermione insisted

"Oh isn't it?" Ginny asked rhetorically "he had them all take turns in guarding a prophecy which only Harry or Voldemort could take, so they could've got Harry to pick it up and listen to it before they destroy it but instead they decide to have guards who really shouldn't be there seeing as the death eaters couldn't pick it up and the only way they could get is if Voldemort himself came to pick it up.

What use would those guards be then? My dad was one of them, what chance would he have against Voldemort? Besides, he nearly died protecting that Prophecy and would have done if Harry hadn't rescued him."

"Alright If you don't mind I'm a bit angry now" Harry interrupted before Hermione could reply "I' need to go and blow off some steam. I'll see you in a bit Gin"

Harry put his hands in the air and pretended to put a hood over his head, soon he was standing there in Curses costume except the hood was still down. The entire common room gasped and stepped back.

"I'll be back by midnight or one o clock" Harry said, he pulled his hood up, the shadows covered his face. Everyone was looking at him like he was a superhero, he apparated away, leaving an entire common room speechless.

"BUT YOU CAN'T APPARATE IN HOGWARTS!" Hermione screamed, looking offended at the fact that Harry had broken not only a school law, but a law on what was possible "How did he do it?!" Hermione demanded to Ginny, Hermione had to know.

"It's real simple" Ginny replied "on three everybody. 1...2…3…"

"IT'S HARRY!" The common room roared

"Nuff said" Ginny turned and went up to the stairs. For everyone that was good enough, Harry was Harry and if you were smart you learnt not to question it. Unfortunately Hermione was not smart.

Hermione chased after her, preparing to body bind Ginny if she needed to, she would get answers. She knew that Ginny slept in the higher girls dorm, she went in and couldn't find Ginny. She searched around and realised that she wasn't there, she checked all of the dorm rooms, even the first year ones. She even checked the boys dorm, expecting Ginny to be waiting in Harrys bed. But she wasn't, Hermione came back down and talked to the common room.

"Where has Ginny gone?! She's not in any of the rooms!"

"You didn't know?" One of the girls asked

"Ginny and Harry only come here to maintain appearances" Neville spoke "pretty much everyone here knows they've got their own place to sleep in, before you say anything, no, we don't know where it is."

The next day Neville was sat in the great hall at breakfast, reading the daily prophet and as predicted Harrys announcement was there. Frankly Neville completely agreed with Harry, if they don't want to change then they shouldn't be around to harm others because of it.

He continued reading the pages when it read that Curse had apparently taken out twenty death eaters using a bow and arrow. That was when Harry came in, followed by Ginny.

"A bow and arrow?" Neville gestured towards the newspaper

"It's called experimenting" Harry replied "I wanted to mix it up, I was getting into a bit of a rut using wands. The bow is a bit more effort and nowhere near as effective but it's really good fun"

"Really?" Neville asked sceptically

"Perhaps a demonstration?" Ginny suggested as she looked at Malfoy who seemed to be bothering a few young Ravenclaws at the other end of the hall.

"Good idea" Harry stood up, the bow came to his left hand. He pulled the string back with his right and an arrow formed, he aimed it carefully and let go.

The arrow soared through the air, it flew past tons of unsuspecting students from first years to seventh years. Malfoy who had just been laughing heard the sound of wind, he looked up and briefly saw Potter before a sudden pain made its way on to his face. He realised that Potter was holding a bow, and he felt blood coming down from his right cheek.

He put two and two together and looked back to see the arrow that was now stuck in the wall, realising how close it was from killing him. He turned back to see Potter with a smile on his face as he was now pulling back another arrow.

"You like it Malfoy?" Harry asked "I killed about twenty death eaters with it yesterday, I never miss with this. Now are you going to keep bullying or am I going to have to stop you personally?"

Malfoy made a noise that could only be described as high pitch and ran out of the hall, too scared to hear the cheers that followed. Harrys bow and arrow disappeared as he sat back down.

"I thought you said you were only going to kill death eaters?" Neville asked

"Oh yeah" Harry nodded "he doesn't know that, or at the very least he won't remember that. Plus I don't actually know if he has taken the mark yet, if he was considering it then I think I just helped him speed up his decision."

"MR POTTER!" A voice bellowed from the head table

"Yes Dumbles?" Harry asked with an innocent face "don't you look lovely today? Guess there is a first time for everything."

"I saw you fire that arrow and that will be detention!"

"That will be bull because we both know you can't give me detention, so why don't you sit that old, stupid, ugly decrepit ass of yours down and eat your breakfast unless you'd like me to make you."

Dumbledore was filled with rage, he glared at the man with a fury unmatched by anyone his age. Partly because there were not many people who had reached the age of one hundred and sixteen, but mostly because he was incredibly furious. The rest of the hall could feel his fury coming off from his magical waves, they all trembled and cowered at his power. Except for three.

Neville looked amused, Ginny looked entertained and Harry looked bored. Something which made Dumbledore even more furious, the entire hall was scared of him but Potter looked bored. Potter reached for something on the table, Dumbledore prepared in case it was a wand.

But no, Potter had picked up an empty plate. For most people this was a bit confusing, especially since Potter looked at it with an amused expression before holding it in front of him. As if he was aiming it, they noticed him pointing the plate at Dumbledore whose power had decreased.

Dumbledore paled slightly, understanding the implication and the reminder of how their last duel had ended. He did not want to risk the public seeing that again, he quickly turned and moved off, leaving a very confused hall.

"Huh…I guess he wasn't hungry" Ginny joked


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34 – Werewolves and an unwanted reunion

Gregory Robin was not happy, Voldemort had assigned him and a couple of death eaters to watch the captured werewolves. It was no secret that the dark lord and Fenrir Greyback had an interest in the werewolves. Personally he thought that they were just mindless beasts but he wasn't going to voice that opinion out loud.

He walked down the dark hall, passing several rooms filled with werewolves. When he started talking to another death eater, both of them were trying to ignore the howls and roars from the filthy creatures. Despite the calm look he had, he was really worried.

Everybody knew all about Potter and his free reign, ignoring the jealousy at the fact that Potter could do whatever he wanted, he was very worried. Especially if Potter decided he wanted to kill him, he had heard what Potter had done to Warius. He was very surprised to hear that the boy had used the cruciatus curse from inside Warius's leg, even Voldemort had never thought about doing that.

"Hey" A fellow death eater spoke to him "do you know how long we have to be here"

"No, at least until they turn back, then we can probably go. Providing they don't kill us, of course"

"I've never liked werewolves"

"Me neither, but they're useful to the dark lord so we've got to keep them alive."

"I know" The death eater sighed "but I don't like being here, it's not just the werewolves. You've heard about Potter or Curse or whatever the brat calls himself"

"Yes I have" Gregory nodded "I've heard all the rumours, but half of them are probably made up. Could you imagine a teenager beating Dumbledore and the dark lord?!"

"True…but I've seen the body count he's been leaving behind. It's not like he kills one and settles for the week, all of his weakly kills are in double digits. Plus you've seen that thing he did with the lightning"

"So what?" Gregory replied "he probably took those losers by surprise, and I bet he got help from someone. Either that or the numbers are all made up, he hasn't even left school yet! No way he could take us all on, I admit that he probably has a trick or two like with the lightning, but that's it. Potter is a punk and we'd beat him anytime in a fair duel" Gregory was set on convincing him, mostly because it helped convince himself.

"But Potter beat the dark lord…in the graveyard"

"Were you there?" Gregory asked, the death eater didn't answer so Gregory continued "exactly, the ones who were there said that the dark lord was weakened thanks to a botched ritual. That's how Potter beat him, at the ministry Dumbledore just got in the way. Potter is nothing"

"I..I guess you're right" The death eater stood with a new found confidence "we're death eaters! Servants of the dark lord! There's no way pure-blooded wizards like ourselves could lose to a filthy half-blood liar like Potter"

"Exactly" Gregory clapped

"Yeah! Potters a nobody"

"Now that's not very nice" A voice called.

The two turned, the death eater had barley glanced in the direction of the voice when an arrow struck him in the throat. Gregory stepped back in shock, he pulled out his wand but was hit with an arrow in his hand. He dropped his wands and clenched his hand tightly, he yanked the arrow out, ignoring the pain as best as he could.

He looked up to see Curse, AKA Potter, slowly walking forward with a bow and arrow. Gregory had to admit he looked an intimidating sight, dressed in all black and a face covered by a hood. Gregory briefly wondered if he was part dementor, ignoring the possibilities of sex with dementors, he got up and ran. Calling for help as he did, he got the end of the hallway when death eaters were all coming to join him.

Curse fired multiple arrows, killing a lot of them before they could even point their wands at him. As he walked closer, one death eater snuck up on him. That death eater ran out of the room, he was big and muscular, a punch from him would probably even hurt Greyback. He punched Curse right in the face, while Curses face turned because of the punch, he didn't look that bothered.

He grabbed the death eater by the stomach and pushed him up, the death eater crashed into the ceiling and caused a big hole into it. He fell down but was caught before he could land and was tossed into a nearby wall. Curse banished the bow and pulled his wand out.

The five death ears that remained and Gregory all fired the killing curse at him, Curse built a brick wall in front of him which took the curses on his behalf. Smoke covered the scene, much like in the graveyard, the bricks flew from the smoke. One hit a death eater in the head, another hit a different one in the throat. Those two died shortly, the others were hit in the body, except for Gregory who managed to skilfully dodge.

He fired another killing curse, it entered the smoke, he fired two more just in case. Silence fell, nobody knew what had happened. Gregory took a step forward, his wand still trained on the smoke, the others copied him.

A red blast of light shot out of the smoke, Gregory barley got his shield up in time but it was useless. The light broke through the shield and hit Gregory in the shoulder, causing him to fall to the floor. Gregory had dropped his wand, he was about to grab it when something landed on his wand. It was one of the death eaters, and judging by the hole in his head, he was dead.

A quick look around told him that he was now the only death eater left, he chose to forget his wand and just stood up and ran as fast as he could. He ran and ran, in fact he nearly ran into one of the rooms with a werewolf. But he made his way to the exit, he opened the door and stopped, dead in his tracks. In front of him was Potter, or Curse as he liked to be called when he wore the outfit.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"Yes" Curse nodded

"….Mercy?"

"Sorry…fresh out of mercy"

The following morning, a group of werewolves woke up. They woke expecting pain, expecting humiliation, expecting everything they had gotten the last few weeks. But to their surprise, the death eaters weren't there, the only thing that was there was a fresh pile of clothes.

They slowly put on the clothes, wondering if this was some trick, they carefully made their way to the door. When they opened it they were greeted with an unexpected sight. In front of them were a pile of dead death eaters, all of them stacked up against a wall, they recognised the death eaters as they were the ones responsible for torturing them.

That was when they were greeted with another unexpected sight, Harry Potter. He was on his knees and performing healing charms on a little girl, the girl looked to be about six or seven and a few of the werewolves recognised her as she was the newest prisoner here. What was odd was that the girl had been blindfolded.

"Does that feel better?" Harry asked the girl who just nodded "excellent, now come on here. Why don't you take a seat and rest?" Harry stood up and lead the small girl over to a chair, he placed her own it before he conjured a curtain to cover the death eater bodies. He removed her blindfold and the girls jaw dropped.

"Ha…Harry…P…Potter" The girl began breathing quickly "you're Curse!"

"Yes I am" Harry replied with a neutral expression and face

"Did…did you save us from the bad men?"

"Yes I did" Harry nodded "the bad men are gone now"

"What's behind that curtain?" She asked

"Just some rotten meat" Harry shrugged, he then turned to the rest of the werewolves "for those of you who don't know, I am Harry Potter. I've sent a tip to the order of the phoenix, while their leader is a totally useless prat, the majority are people who want to do good in the world. When they come you should probably ask for Remus Lupin, he's also a werewolf.

They'll be here in a bit, so I'm going to go as I'd like to avoid a lecture. And for the love of god, do not open that curtain in front of the kid. Goodbye kid." Harry waved at the girl before walking away, leaving some very stunned werewolves.

The next day Harry entered the great hall and all eyes were on him, he sat down at the table with Ginny and asked what was the cause of the attention this time. She gestured to the newspaper which described his events last night, and how the young female werewolf described him as a big and strong hero who beat the mean and evil bad guys before leaving.

"That's adorable" Ginny was talking about the girl "I bet she's probably telling anyone who listens that she got rescued by the great and handsome Harry Potter. Speaking of the girl, how did she handle the bodies?"

"She didn't" Harry answered "I covered the bodies up so she couldn't see them, I figured that the kids got enough on her plate by being a werewolf and being kidnapped by death eaters so she could probably do without seeing me slaughter a bunch of people. Even if they are death eaters."

"Mr Potter" McGonagall walked up to him "I do apologise for disturbing your breakfast but the headmaster wishes to see you"

"Thank you Professor, I'll be up to see him in about five minutes" McGonagall nodded before walking about.

"Harry" Hermione approached "what does Dumbledore want to talk to you about?"

"Probably the death eaters I killed yesterday" Hermione was about to lecture him but before she could do that, Harry yawned and gave her a little smile before he picked up some toast and stood up "alright Gin, I'm off, I got to talk to Dobby for a minute about a special project then I'm going to Dumbledore. Do you want to come?"

"No thanks, I've got to study for my exams and finish breakfast" Harry had mentally translated that into Ginny speak and heard it as 'I'll watch through your mind' "and what project?" Ginny could have just pulled the answer out of Harrys mind but they both agreed to only do it with the others permission.

"I'll tell you after the meeting" Harry left.

He went and talked with Dobby for a minute or two before he made his way to the headmasters office. When he entered he was greeted with the sight of Dumbledore sitting at his desk, and Hermione standing to Dumbledore's right while Ron stood to Dumbledore's left. Hermione stood in a business-like manner while Ron looked smug and arrogant.

"Hello sir" Harry greeted the man "is there a reason I've been summoned here with the most annoying pair in school?"

"I'd watch yourself Potter" Ron spoke "we're members of the order now"

"And I'm sure Voldemort is cowering in fear at the idea of meeting an all talk and no walk pair of Gryffindor teenagers" Harry sneered in a way that would make Snape proud "now to repeat my previous question, why am I here with the shortest fuse in Hogwarts and the book worm?"

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke "I'm very concerned with your actions. Yesterday you slaughtered another huge number of death eaters."

"In my defence" Harry paused "I really, really wanted to. What happened to the werewolves anyway?"

"Mr Lupin has taken the responsibility for them, I presume he has arranged a safe house for them or sent them to their families. While you did a noble thing by protecting the weak, your methods are unacceptable"

"Really?" Harry asked with an amused tone "from what I've seen so far the only people who really complain are death eaters and you, the majority of people are okay with what I do. In fact I've met quite a few aurors during my outings and they all seem to be very supportive."

"Harry" Hermione interrupted "I get that you feel like you're doing the right thing, but this can't go on. You can't just kill every death eater you see"

"I don't kill every death eater I see" Harry objected "I offered the dark mark removal potion and about twenty death eaters took it so far, I can safely say that I will not kill them or any others who take it before the deadline expires. But, yes, I will kill the rest"

"Harry, you have lost your way" Dumbledore said "I want to help you find it, I'd like you to join the order"

"And I'd like to currently be in bed with Ginny but we can't have everything we want"

"Harry" Dumbledore continued "you're a smart man, and your wife is a smart witch"

"Smartest witch in her year" Harry smiled at Hermione who clearly disagreed

"The two of you are incredibly intelligent" Dumbledore complimented "therefore you should be able to see the clear benefits of joining with the order. We can accomplish so much together"

"Can we?" Harry asked "I've lost count of all the death eaters I've stopped, how many have the order stopped? Keeping in mind that all the people they've caught and sent to Azkaban were freed by Voldemort and Malfoy"

"Harry, we have a large amount of resources and very talented witches and wizards"

"Talented?" Harry looked at Ron "Talented?" Harry repeated "you have Ronald Weasley join you and your selling point is talented?" Ron growled and moved forward.

"Mr Weasley" Dumbledore stopped him from attacking Harry, in reality he stopped Harry from hurting him "that will be quite enough"

"Headmaster" Harry spoke "while you may have some talented people like Lupin, Black and Moody, you don't use them properly. You know how impressive Moody is in battle, yet you've restricted him to stunning on the very rare cases he gets into battle. All you do is have him on guard duty or run errands for you, admittedly he is a multi-talented man, but frankly you're being too defensive.

From what I've seen the death eaters are the offensive ones and you and your group stick purely to defence, well, in my opinion the best defence is a good offence. I've took the fight to them and their afraid, they're afraid of me and what I can do"

"Yes, but Harry" Hermione spoke "can't you see the damage you're doing? Those death eaters are still people"

"What's that?" Harry pointed out the window at the sky "oh look, it's the damn I give, it's flying away, it's flying and it's gone."

"Language Harry" Hermione scolded

"I know English and parsletounge" Harry replied "now, I'd rather kill one death eater than let him kill twenty innocents. That girl, I rescued her, I saved her. Me, I saved her and the other werewolves. Not you, or the order who only came after I had tracked them down and sent a tip the following morning. Those people, they would've woken up to another morning of torture and hell if not for the fact that I stopped their tormentors from doing the same thing to them or anyone else"

"How did you find out they were there?" Dumbledore asked "while we're on that topic, how do you keep coming across death eaters? It's as if you know where they are" Harry had a ton of different methods. He would use his elves, read the minds of death eaters he already taken out, use data from the previous war to figure out hiding spots and a ton more.

"I have my ways" Harry said, just for added effect he had Dumbledore's trademark twinkle in his eyes "that's right" Harry gestured to his eyes "I can make them twinkle"

"Harry we're worried" Hermione spoke as Dumbledore seemed incapable of saying anything as he looked partway between anger and surprise "your power could corrupt you, you could turn dark"

"Racist" Harry spat

"Not that type of dark!"

"Look Herms" Harry enjoyed her eye twitch at the nickname he came up for her "I'm not light and I'm not dark, I'm in-between, grey if you need a label. I'm sorry I don't fit into your perfect little world but I am what I am, I get results and no innocents get hurt when I do. That's good enough for me. You can argue about it all you like but I am not changing my mind, I will not join your bird watching club and I will continue to fight the death eaters my way. Now, good day to you"

Harry walked out of the room, giving the three the finger as he did. He soon reached Ginny and told her about his special project once they were alone.

"Basically" Harry started "ever since I met Remus I've had the elves gather every bit of data they can find on werewolves, I've even had them analyse the Wolfsbane potion"

"They know how to do that?" Ginny asked

"No, I know how to do that, I just tell them how to do that. Either way, I had them working with Snape since he left Dumbledore and apparently they're close to inventing a cure."

"A cure?!" Ginny couldn't believe it, well she could seeing as it was Harry, but she was still surprised.

"Yeah, don't tell Remus. I don't want to get his hopes up just in case but Snape is working on a cure based off my research, it's not a permanent cure. It's a potion that will probably have to be taken before very full moon but it will definitely be better than the Wolfsbane potion."

"Harry, that's amazing. You could make so much money from it and be ten times as famous"

"We both know that I don't care about the money" Harry laughed "I was willing to give Snape all the credit but he insisted that I take some as well, something about using my fame to my advantage."

"Makes sense" Ginny replied "Harry Potter: the boy-who-lived, youngest tri-wizard tournament winner ever, Curse and maker of the cure for werewolves. Damn it, I'll have to stop a ton more girls from throwing themselves at you" Ginny added the last part as a joke

"Of course" Harry replied "or you could throw yourself at me before they do"

"Tempting, but unlike you I have to attend classes. Now, you run along and at the end of the day we can commence the throwing at each other."

"Deal" Harry pecked her and walked away, Ginny walked to class, she had charms with Professor Flitwick.

Ginny did great in class, as usual, her exams neared and she was feeling pretty confident. With Harry as her tutor she had always been ahead of the class, she talked with her teachers and they all agreed that she could probably pass the newt exams if she put the effort into it.

Once class finished Ginny found herself talking the Greengrass sisters for a while before she talked with Neville, soon she planned to make her way back to her room when she was confronted by Ron and Hermione, she sent a mental note to Harry as they told her to follow them into an abandoned classroom. Harry quickly got there and telepathically told Ginny that he was right outside and would burst into action at a moments notice.

"Ginny" Hermione spoke first "you need to stop Harry! He's lost control! He's out killing death eaters and he refuses to do what Dumbledore says, he even refused to join the order! You've got to get him under control"

"Granger" Ginny sighed "like I've said before, I don't control Harry. We're equals in our relationship, unless we do something that could harm us then we don't interfere in what the other wants to do. As I am more worried about the death eaters safety than Harrys, I don't see no need to stop him"

"Ginny" Ron responded "he's a murderer, you are married to a murderer. He could kill you"

"He could but he won't" Ginny said confidently "when we got married he made a magical vow to protect and care for me"

"Good for you, but he's still a git" Ron replied "Ginny, he' dangerous and you need to get him under control or us and the order will."

"Ha" Ginny laughed "I'd love to see you try Ron, Harry beat Dumbledore himself, what chance do you lot have?"

"That was a fluke, there's no way Potter could beat Dumbledore"

"You believe the headmaster if you want, I will chose to believe the guy who has always been truthful honest and caring towards me"

"Ginny" Hermione said "I know that you're blinded by your emotions but you can clearly see that Harry is a danger, while we're on the subject of Harry, he apparated when he was in the common room? How? How did he do that?"

"I don't know" Ginny answered honestly "even if I did I wouldn't tell you"

"Oh please!" Hermione snapped "of course you know! Harry tells you everything!"

"Not everything" Ginny replied "some questions I just don't bother asking, I'm sure if Harry was willing to teach me then he would. Now unless you two would like anything else, me and Harry are planned to have a special evening today."

"Special evening?" Ron was confused

"Special Ron" Ginny answered "as in husband and wife special" Ginny spoke slowly, as if she was talking to a child. It took Ron a few seconds but Ginny assumed that the disgusted look on his face meant he had understood it. "I'm leaving now"

"Wait" Hermione and Ron pulled their wands out and aimed it at Ginny who had already pulled her wand out, Ginny wasn't worried. She could take the two of them on with basic spells.

"Ginny" Hermione spoke firmly "you need to work with us, you need to listen to us"

"I don't think I do" Ginny smirked "in fact, neither does my husband. Harry, as much as I would love to deal with the two idiots myself, I don't want to get in trouble and deal with Dumbledore. Would you mind?"

The door burst off of its hinges and fell to the ground with a hard bang, a stunner flew from where the door had previously been and stuck Ron who had flew back and crashed into Hermione who also flew back. Harry walked in, calm as could be, he saw the Ron and Hermione's unconscious bodies on the floor. Ron appeared to have landed on Hermione.

"Alright Gin?" Harry asked Ginny who pocketed her wand and walked over to Harry

"I'm great" She grabbed his arm and the pair walked out "in fact, I'm in a really good mood. My husband just rescued me from a pair of trolls and I'd like to repay him"

"Hmm" Harry pretended to think "I could think of a few things he would like"

"Well, I'd best not keep him waiting then"

Over the next few weeks Harry had put more effort into hunting death eaters as the deadline for the potion was nearly at an end, about twenty seven had taken it a day before the deadline ended. After the deadline it turned out that only thirty people in total had taken it.

Dumbledore and the dumb duo tried on several occasions to stop Harry and convince him that what he was doing was wrong, Harry admired their persistence but that was about it. The rest of the school helped provide distractions and get in the way anytime Hermione and Ron tried to confront him. Sometimes it was as simple as standing in the way and giving Harry and Ginny enough time to get away, other times they would cause disruptions in class and blame it on Hermione and Ron, then the teachers would keep them back.

Hermione was still incredibly furious at the fact that Harry had managed to apparate within Hogwarts, and when she wasn't chasing Harry she worked with the determination of a god to try and find out how he did it. Unfortunately she couldn't work it out, that frustrated her and she spent more time trying to figure it out. Her grades started falling and she constantly looked tired.

Meanwhile, Ron had become an even bigger prat. He had gotten more cocky and smug, the Gryffindor's were tempted to paint the dark mark on his arm and tell Harry that he had joined the death eaters and watch as he finishes him off. The rest of the school felt the same way, ever since he joined the the order Ron had walked as if he was the saviour of the wizarding world. Eventually people had enough and started pranking him, changing hair and tied laces were the lightest of the pranks that Ron had experienced.

Soon it came time for Ginny to take her exams, while she was doing that, Harry decided to go out and have some fun hunting death eaters. Ginny had told him she'd close off her connection so she could concentrate but she'd want to know what happened later, something that Harry thought was a fair demand. Especially as Ginny could just take the memory right out of his mind.

In an abandoned warehouse, a couple of death eaters stood, amused at the sight in front of them. They had just captured some local muggles, and were about to torture them to let off some steam from hiding out because of Potter.

"Isn't this great?" One of the death eaters spoke "look at the muggle trash we have to entertain us"

"I know" The other death eater replied, looking down at the fearful faces of the three muggles in front of them. "We have one muggle who looks like he's related to Wormtail, another who looks like he ate Wormtail…and we have a pretty little one here"

"She'd make a great toy"

"True, I call dibs. With the other two, we could probably have a different kind of fun."

"What do you mean?" He asked as the other man pulled out a gun

"I've never used one before, admittedly it's nothing compared to what we got but I like to experiment"

"Hey boys" A third death eater called as he entered the room, he was dragging in another muggle.

This muggle was wearing white trainers, blue jeans, a grey shirt, black gloves and a black leather jacket. He had a motorcycle helmet on his head, the death eater dropped him onto a chair and tied him up. "I found this one outside"

"Brilliant" The first death eater with the gun exclaimed, he walked over to examine the new muggle while the new death eater walked towards the other death eater to see the other muggles.

"They don't look that bright, or clean" The new death eater spoke

"True" The man with the motorcycle helmet spoke "Piers over there probably needs his mother to count for him, and I doubt he's ever head a bath"

"He speaks" The gun wielding death eater spoke in mock amazement "you know the sorry bastards?" He gestured to three in the chairs

"Unfortunately" The helmet man spoke "not like I had a choice, but sadly I wasn't allowed to kill them and be done with it. I'll introduce you to them all. The ugly looking one with the blue shirt is called Piers, he's a bully who is useless without the fat one. The pretty blonde girl over there, her name is Sarah. She likes to make people think she's nice, but she likes seeing others suffer. The big one, his name is Dudley. He's a bully, he and his parents hate people like you.

In fact, his mother and father referred to non-muggles as freaks and abnormal. And because of you idiots I'm in a situation where I have to see their stupid faces again, for that, I'm going to kill you"

Dudley, Piers and Sarah were all very confused. Each of them wondering who the guy is, the death eaters were in a similar situation. The boy knew about magic, or at least had some knowledge. Perhaps he was a squib or maybe one of his relatives were magical or maybe they had caught a muggleborn.

"You'll kill us?" The gun wielding death eater laughed "don't be ridiculous, who do you think you are?"

The death eater removed the man's helmet and caused two reactions. The first resulted in Sarah, Piers and Dudley dropping their jaws in shock, the second was all the death eaters had taken a step back.

"H…Harry?" Dudley asked

"Hello Dudley" Harry smiled "looks you made another mess that I had to sort out"


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35 –

Dudley, Sarah and Piers were very confused. The day started off just like any other day, smoking and beating up kids. The next thing they knew they were kidnapped by weird guys in black costumes, Dudley paled when he heard the word muggle come from them. He realized that these people were probably freaks like his cousin.

Then the freaks bring in another guy, they tie him up and the next that thing that happens is the guy starts talking like he knows them. One of the freaks remove his helmet and it turns out that the guy was his cousin, what was weird for him was the fact that the other freaks looked scared of him. Piers was also wondering what Potter was doing here, he remembered beating up the kid for a bit when he was younger, then Potter suddenly disappeared. He also remembered that Dudley always seemed a bit scared when he brought it up.

Sarah was also a bit confused by the situation. Sarah had grown up since she was a child and became even more pretty, she was of a perfect height and had brilliant blonde hair and blue eyes. Dudley had asked to become her boyfriend a couple of times but she refused, while Dudley was fun he looked like a whale. Now she looked at Potter, she remembered he used to be a scrawny kid with messy hair and damaged glasses; she was blown away by the transition from that to the person in front of her.

His clothes looked brilliant, he looked thin but muscular and his messy hair now made him look more attractive. He had a great bone structure, his green eyes twinkled away and he looked like the definition of handsome. If it wasn't for the fact that they were kidnapped by weird guys then she would probably ask him out.

"Potter!" One of the death eaters jumped back, he glared at the one who brought him in "you idiot! You brought in Potter!"

"I didn't know!" The death eater screamed, he looked at Harry who was smiling "Mr Potter, I am really sorry! I am so, so sorry!" Dudley and his friends stared at the men in shock, wondering why they would be so scared of Harry who was looking positively amused by the man.

"I imagine you are" Harry calmly replied "but it's funny, you weren't sorry when it was just them"

"Please!" The death eater begged "let us go! Let me go, I promise I will turn myself in! Please! Please don't kill me!"

"Kill you?" Sarah asked "What the hell is going on?"

"Twinkle, twinkle little snitch, please be silent, you stupid bitch. I'll get to you three in a minute" Harry spoke before reverting his attention back to the death eaters and ignoring the outraged cry of Sarah "do not pretend to be unaware of the offer I made, you could have backed out, you had all that time to do it. Time that i gave out of the goodness of my heart but you didn't, the deadline is over. You and your friends aren't leaving here alive."

"Enough of this!" The gun wielding death eater snapped "you're just a coward! There is no way Potter killed half of the people they said he killed, he's just a teenager! Fuck this, I'm going to kill him myself."

The death eater raised the gun and pushed it against the side of Potters head. Harry, ignoring the worrying faces of Dudley and his friends, looked really bored. The death eater prepared to fire, Harry whose hands were tied behind the chair, dislocated his thumb and slipped out of the ties before popping his thumb back in. He summoned one of Slytherin's knives to his hand and the fun began.

Harry pulled the death eaters arm so the gun was no longer aimed at him, and he brought the knife and slit the death eaters throat. Everyone gasped in surprise and shock, Harry yanked the gun out of the dying man's hands and fired two bullets at the death eater who was begging. Both bullets hit him in his legs and he fell to the floor, he fired three more at the other death eater who fell to the floor with a three holes in his chest. Harry stood up, he used the last of the bullets on the death eater with the slit throat.

He slowly walked over to the death eater with the bullets in his leg, the death eater tried to crawl away. Harry read his mind and understood that the man's name was Hayden. Harry reached Hayden, and kicked him so he would lie on his back. Harry placed his foot above Hayden's right leg and dug his shoes into the bullet wound. Causing Hayden to scream in pain.

"Please!" Hayden cried "please stop!" Harry continued for another few seconds before he eventually removed his foot. "Please, please let me go" He said to Harry, who turned and started walking.

"I can't do that" Harry walked around the room, almost like he was looking for something "you see if I do then people will think I'm going soft and I really can't have that. I'd have to put twice the amount of effort into killing you and your friends if I did, in fact I'd like to thank you Hayden. You're fear proved to me that what I'm doing is effective, it's better to be loved but I enjoy being feared almost as much."

"How…how did you know my name?"

"Aha" Harry exclaimed, he knelt down and picked something up before walking back to Hayden. In his hand was a hammer, he would have used magic but he figured it would be better to not use it in front of Dudley and his friends. Hayden screamed in terror as Harry approached.

"Stop!" Hayden cried "Please just let me go"

"The same way you let those families you murdered go?" Harry countered "I won't do it in exactly the same way, but I will let you go Hayden. Goodbye Hayden"

"NO!" Hayden screamed before Harry raised the hammer in the air and brought it down; Sarah closed her eyes so she didn't have to see what was happening. She opened them briefly to see Harry do it a second time.

Once Harry was done he tossed the hammer away, he wandlessly cast a cleaning charm to get rid of the blood on his hand and clothes. He turned to see Dudley, Piers and Sarah looking absolutely terrified of him.

"Oh hello" Harry spoke as if he had just seen them "long time no see"

"You…you killed them" Sarah stuttered

"Yes Sarah, that's what happens when you shoot people and smash their head in with a hammer" Harry spoke as if she was a child "so it's nice to see you all. Piers, you're still as ugly as ever, I hope your single because I would truly pity the girl who would be willing to kiss you, she must be desperate." Piers looked like he wanted to say something but was too terrified to form words. "I remember being a bit scared of you when I was younger, but to be honest, it was more because of your face than your fists. But to be honest, I was always a little jealous about the fact that you never needed to buy a Halloween mask." Harry took a few steps closer.

"Oh and Sarah" Harrys eyes rested on Sarah, who shrunk under his gaze, his eyes gave her the impression that he was judging her soul "nice and pretty Sarah, it's nice to see you again. It's been a while, hasn't it? Don't worry, I'd never forget my first friend, the fact that you threw me to the whale makes you even more unforgettable. Speaking of the whale" Harry stopped right in front of Dudley.

"Harry" Dudley whispered

"Oh, so now my name is Harry? I always figured it was freak. Tell me Dudley, did you miss me? I mean, you were probably upset at the loss of your favorite servant and punching bag. Good lord, look at you, someone should probably put a bell on you. You've gotten so fat"

"Hey!" Dudley cried "I'm not fat."

"Dudley, your tits are bigger than your mothers. I doubt you could see your toes when you stand and you've gained an extra two chins since the last time I saw you. If your not fat then why does it look like you're a few days away from providing me with a nephew or a niece?"

"Mum says I'm big boned"

"Your mum also thinks that you're a perfect angel, and she thinks that everyone who is not exactly like her is a freak. Your mum also looks like a horse ran face first into a brick wall so I think it's safe to assume she had experience with lying about how a person looks and I'm not going to get started on your father. He looks like a walrus who ate another walrus, and that is the tamest thing I could say about him."

"You don't have to be so mean" Dudley sniffed

"I can't find a non-insulting way to describe you and your family, and for the record, neither did you. So, tell me why you bunch of idiots are here?"

"They kidnapped us" Piers spoke for the first time "we weren't doing anything and they just came up and kidnapped us"

"You 'weren't doing anything'?" Harry laughed "First of all, I call bullshit. You were probably beating someone up at least. So, you guys get kidnapped and end up here, right?" The three nodded.

"Brilliant" Harry looked back and forth between the three "so, what should I do?"

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked "you could let us go"

"I could" Harry nodded "but I could also leave you here, I could also kill you and leave no witnesses" Harry wasn't really going to kill them but he took great pleasure in the fact that they didn't know that "so many tempting options" Dudley and Piers gulped, so did Sarah but she tried to be the brave one in this situation.

"Why would you? I mean we wouldn't tell anyone what we saw, right guys?" Dudley and piers nodded as fast as they could "and you don't need to kill us"

"I don't need to kill you" Harry agreed "but I could, and it is so very tempting. Seeing my childhood tormentors look so helpless is making me feel good, nobody would know, nobody."

"What happened to you?" Sarah asked "you were just a kid when I last saw you, how the hell did you turn into this?"

"It was thanks to you three" Harry answered "you guys and Dudley's parents. One day when I was seven after Dudley's mum and dad locked me in my bedroom, also known as the cupboard under the stairs"

"That was your bedroom?" Sarah gasped

"Didn't know that, did you? But yes it was, as I was saying, one day Dudley's dad tosses me in and locks the door. He had just broken my arm, again, and I began thinking. I was tired, my life was shit and it wasn't getting better. The beatings, the starvation, the bullying and the failed suicide attempts broke me."

"Suicide?" Sarah could not believe it

"Yeah, those were fun, bleach and kitchen knives and throwing myself off buildings and in front of vehicles and I still didn't die. But one day, I had enough. I escaped, it turns out my parents left me a massive fortune. I spend years repairing the damage you three and Dudley's family caused me before being accepted at a private boarding school, things were good there. I became popular, I got friends, I fell in love.

But with the good came the bad, and I'm handling that. So much has changed since I last saw you guys, I'm allowed to kill now. Did you know that? I could kill all of you and get away with it"

"Please Harry!" Sarah cried "please don't hurt me. Please"

"Please is a funny word, I remember saying please when I was younger. 'Please Uncle Vernon, don't hit me', 'please Aunt Petunia, I can't work anymore', 'please Dudley, please Piers, stop hitting me' and one of my personal favorites was 'please Sarah, please help me'. I remember saying that last one when you had thrown me to the wolves, not actual wolves of course, but I bet you'd do that if you had access."

"Harry, please! We were just kids then!"

"I was just a kid" Harry pointed out "you all took away my childhood, my innocence, my trust in people. I won't kill you, as tempting as it would be I do not want to waste my time with you all. And it is about time you lot came here"

"Hello Mr Potter" Kingsley walked out of the shadows, followed by two aurors. They looked very nervous so Harry assumed that they were newbies, the others saw Kingsley in a suit and saw the aurors in a suit as well. They're wands were made to look like guns. "I see that you've been busy"

"Very" Harry nodded

"Who are you guys?" Sarah asked in a quiet voice, she was very upset at the moment. As were Piers and Dudley, they had no idea that their actions could result in someone becoming a murderer or trying to kill himself.

"We work with the government" Kingsley said before showing them some fake badges

"Alright, I'm off. Have fun with them" Harry turned to walk away when the two aurors stood in front of him, obviously planning to stop him. Harry narrowed his eyes and looked at the two with a penetrating gaze, one which caused the two to become even more nervous.

"Let Mr Potter pass" Kingsley ordered "it's not like either of you can stop him anyway, let him go before he breaks your arms." The aurors glanced at each other before taking a look at the intimidating sight that was Harry Potter, they quickly moved out of the way and Harry walked past.

"You're letting him go?" Piers looked at them with disbelief "he killed like three guys"

"Mr Potter is a special case" Kingsley smiled "he has full permission from the government to take lives if he deems it necessary. Now, let's see what you know" Kingsley aimed his wand at them and read their minds "hmm, I'll erase your memories but I don't want you to forget the lesson Mr Potter has taught you"

Kingsley aimed his wand at them once more and fired an advanced version of the memory charm, Kingsley felt quite proud of himself. The memory charm would remove the memories from their minds but still allow them to retain specific feelings and that they got from the encounter or preciously, the feeling of regret and the wish to change.

Once he reached Hogwarts, Harry had told Ginny all about what had happened by letting her view it directly from his mind. She felt a bit bad for him because he had to see his childhood tormentors again but felt proud of him for not giving into his temptation to hurt them, in all honesty she was impressed because she did not possess the same level of self-constraint.

The pair talked for a while before entering the common room, everyone smiled as they entered. Almost everyone at least, as soon as they entered Hermione ran towards them. Her hair was messed up, her clothes were messy and she had sleeping bags under her tired eyes. She had lost a lot of sleep trying to figure out how Harry apparated out of Hogwarts, naturally she couldn't find anything and blamed Harry for this.

"Harry James Potter!" She roared

"Oh, full name, you are in trouble" Ginny commented

"Shut it!" Hermione snapped "Harry, how do you do it?!"

"Simple really" Harry replied, Hermione looked at him expectantly "first we start kissing, then we slowly begin to remove layers of clothing until…"

"What are you talking about?!"

"You asked how I 'do it' and that is usually how I do it."

"Not that!" Hermione shouted How did you apparate here?! You can't apparate in Hogwarts, I know that for a fact because it says so in 'Hogwarts: A History'!"

"Yes, lord forbid a book from being wrong"

"Just tell me!"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I want to know and I need to know! You will tell me!"

"Let me think, okay I've thought about it, and I refuse. It's funnier to watch you get frustrated, you can work it out yourself because I will not tell you"

Hermione growled, she was tired and angry and not thinking straight, she reached for her wand.

"Careful Granger" Ginny spoke "you don't want to give Harry a reason to hurt you, personally I hope you do, I've always wondered what you would look like getting thrown down the staircase."

Hermione stopped and realized Ginny was right, there was no way she could remotely pose a threat to Harry. Especially when she was in a common room full of people who supported him, she slowly dropped her hand and left her wand in her pocket.

"By the way Hermione" Ginny spoke up "that will be ten points for disturbing the common room, another ten for threatening prefects and a detention with Professor McGonagall."

"You can't do that!" Hermione screamed

"Yes we can" Ginny looked smug "until we leave, we're still prefects"

"And we are allowed to assign detentions" Harry added "or at least if we have good reason to do so. I'd think aggressive behavior, disturbing others and preparing to attack two prefects in the middle of the common room is a good enough reason. Argue as much as you like, we've got witnesses."

"Don't worry Granger" Ginny said "if me and Harry pass our exams…"

"Which we probably will" Harry spoke

"Then me and Harry will be leaving, you only have to put up with us for a little bit longer"

"By the way guys" Neville spoke up "she knows all about the fact that you don't sleep here anymore"

"Yes!" Hermione yelled "I figured out that you two don't sleep here anymore! Where do you sleep?!"

"In a bed" Harry answered

"Harry!"

"Now we could tell her" Harry said to Ginny

"True" She nodded

"But I don't want to tell her"

"Me neither"

"She could work it out"

"True, then she'd disturb us constantly."

"Should we move?"

"I think so, but where do you want to go?"

"We could stay in the chamber of secrets if you want?" Harry said, knowing the effect it would have. Everyone gasped and Hermione looked like she was about to throw a fit.

"The chamber?! That's a legend, there's no way you could have found it!"

"I found it in my second year" Harry shrugged "I occasionally go and visit to see Ellie"

"Ellie?" Seamus asked

"I believe that you all would refer to her as 'Salazar's monster'" Harry replied

"She's really not that bed" Ginny responded "Harry took me to meet her a few times, she's really kind. Massive and dangerous but really kind. That reminds me, we should visit before we go. As for staying there I think we shouldn't."

"Yeah you're right, don't want to make Ellie uncomfortable. Perhaps we should stay in the 'special room'" The members of the DA lit up, they knew Harry was talking about the room of requirement, Hermione unfortunately did not know.

"What special room?! Chamber of secrets?! What else are you hiding?!"

"A lot of things Granger" Harry smiled "a lot of things. We're going to go now, so I'd like to see which you solve first. My apparition ability, the chamber of secrets or the special room? You had better solve it before we go Hermione, because as soon as me and Ginny get our test results, we are out of here. Come on Gin, the elves can get our stuff later."

Harry and Ginny walked out of the common room, the people inside collectively smirked at the frustrated Hermione who looked like she was about to burst. Hermione's brain was overloading and she couldn't work out what to do. Should she work out where the chamber of secrets is first or should she try and figure out what the special room is? Should she continue with trying to work out how Harry can apparate in Hogwarts? That's when she remembered that Harry was able to climb the girls staircase, how did he do that? She ran to the library, she needed answers.

Meanwhile Harry and Ginny were in the room of requirement, laughing as they just opened the marauders map to fine Hermione running to the library. The next day Hermione didn't even show up to lessons, Harry had briefly wondered if all the researching had finished her off. He then silently thought that death by research is probably the worst, if not most boring and stupid, way to die.

Sadly for Harry, this was not the case. He was called straight into Dumbledore's office the day after, when he entered he saw a tired looking Dumbledore, an agitated Ron and a furious and stressed Hermione who looked absolutely tired and like she wanted to bite someone.

"Hello!" Harry said loudly, Hermione winced at the noise volume "I was having a very lovely day today. The weather was nice, the birds were singing, I woke up with my wife wrapped all over me"

"Hey!" Ron shouted

"But then" Harry continued, ignoring Ron "I get called up here to see have another meeting with you incompetent bunch of first class, grade A, established fuckwits."

"Harry" Dumbledore tried to speak

"Which you are" Harry cut him off "yes, you are. Now would you kindly tell me why I am here for what feels like the hundredth time this year with you colossal prats?"

"Harry! Do not speak to me like that!" Dumbledore demanded "the way you are addressing me is unacceptable!"

"Why is it acceptable for you to be an idiot but not acceptable for me to point it out?"

"Harry" Dumbledore growled "I need to discuss something important with you"

"I have the weirdest sensation of Deja poo right now" Harry commented

"Deja poo?" Dumbledore asked

"I get the feeling that I've heard this crap before"

"You think your funny?" Ron shot him a hateful look

"Ah Ron" Harry turned his attention to the red head, acting as if he just noticed him "living proof that success isn't inherited, it's just a shame that you were the only one in your family who didn't inherit it. I mean, your mum can at least cook."

"Shut it Potter!" Ron demanded "you do not talk to me like that! I am way better than you ever will be!"

"Tell me Ron, was your intelligence always at this low of a level or did you have to take classes to get it that down?"

"I'm not stupid!"

"I'm not saying you're stupid" Harry replied "I'm just saying your brain is severely underworked and you have the worst luck in the world when it comes to thinking. Although, I suspect that if a cannibal bust your head open, he would probably have just enough to cover a small sandwich."

"Harry" Dumbledore tried to interrupt

"Hermione" Harry turned to the bushy haired girl "how are we today? Look at you, have you been sleeping properly?" Hermione glared at him "I mean look at you, you're clothes are all messed up, your hair looks ridiculous and the bags under your eyes look big enough to carry my books. I would've thought that someone as intelligent as you would've worked out that your brain and body needs sleep and food to operate at maximum capacity and…wait, should I explain what a brain is for you? Perhaps another time, I don't have the effort nor the crayons necessary to explain it to you at the moment"

"Would you please shut the bloody hell up?!" Hermione yelled. Harry leaned back and plastered a faked expression of hurt

"Alright, first of all, language" Harry said mockingly "second of all it is really no problem, I know that you're not the brightest spark from a wand so I really don't mind"

"Stop that!" Hermione demanded "I am smart! I am the smartest witch in my year and I am smarter than everyone else! My type of intelligence is rare and…"

"I agree with you" Harry cut her off "you're a person of rare intelligence…it's incredibly rare for you to show any"

"Harry!" Dumbledore interrupted before Hermione could reply "I've brought you here to discuss a few important matters"

"Clearly, it must be important as it seems that it's important enough to deprive a village of its idiot" Harry gestured to Ron "and to get the book worm out of its hole in the library" He gestured to Hermione.

"Harry" Dumbledore continued "I have been told that you are planning to leave the school as soon as you and your wife receive your results."

"Yes" Harry nodded "in fact we are so eager that one of our elves be sent to collect our results, less chance of it getting lost or taken by owl post" Dumbledore mentally growled as Harry had already taken preparations against one potential plan.

"Harry I think it would be best if you stay at Hogwarts"

"I don't" Harry replied "me and Ginny have talked to the teachers and they all agreed that with our level of skill and intelligence it is pointless for us to stay here anymore"

"Please" Ron scoffed "like you're that smart"

"Ronald, everyone has a right to be stupid but you are, quite frankly, abusing that privilege at the moment" Harry replied "not even a tiny bit of abusing, like, full on physical abuse. The type where you would hang it upside down and beat it and torture it and starve it for days on end, the type that would stay with it all of its life.

Me and Ginny are and have always been the best in our year, we always consistently get the highest marks on homework and exams. If you don't believe me then you can look at the sheet in the common room with all the test results, although you may have to ask Hermione to read it for you as some of the words and numbers are pretty big."

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke again "would you please stop insulting Mr Weasley and Miss Granger?"

"I will not" Harry shook his head "I'm hoping that if keep talking then they will eventually say something intelligent"

"Harry, if you keep this up then I will put you in detention"

"Oh my god!" Harry exclaimed "the stupid is contagious! You've got it too Dumbledore! You seem to have forgotten the fact that you can't punish me, now can we please hurry this meeting up? As far as I'm aware there is no cure for being an idiot and I need to get away from you lot before I catch it"

"Harry, it would be best if you remain at Hogwarts"

"I disagree" Harry disagreed "it takes up a lot of time, time which could be better spent getting rid of death eaters. I trust you heard about the incident with my cousin"

"Yes I have" Dumbledore nodded "I must say I am proud that you chose not to hurt him"

"Believe me when I say it was tempting, but like I said, I only harm those who deserve it. My cousin is a burden to society and a physical burden to the ground he walks on but he at least limits his activities to making people miserable, the muggle police can deal with him."

"But there is also the matter of those death eaters you killed"

"They got off easy in my opinion" Harry responded "look Dumbledore, I know what you are planning. You think that you need me at Hogwarts so you can help me 'see the light' and realize that what I'm doing is wrong. It wouldn't take a genius to guess what you think about me, so Hermione and Ron could probably guess what you think about me, you think I'm going dark, don't you?"

"Well you clearly are" Hermione blurted out before Dumbledore could say anything "you are unbelievably powerful, you're a parsletounge, you refuse to listen to the headmaster and you kill people"

"Tell me something" Harry replied "do you ever have a terribly empty feeling, you know, in your skull? Because if you do then I'm pretty sure that you left your brain in your room. Grip your ears and pull your head out of your ass Hermione, we don't live in a playground where we can just give the bad guy a little bruise and put him in prison and hope he learns his lesson.

We're living in a time of war. People die, people are going to die and they'll continue to die as long as this war keeps going on. If people have to die then fine but I'd rather the innocent ones die of natural causes. Yes I am powerful, but so is Dumbledore and yes I can speak to snakes but that does not make me evil, it just means I know another language. I do bad things to bad people so they can't do it to innocent people, does that make me an evil person? If you want to consider me one then do so. But if I am then I am a necessary evil.

I don't listen to Dumbledore because I don't like nor respect him because unlike you and the sorry sod over there, I don't see him as the grand leader of the light. All I see is an old man living in a fantasy world where everything will turn out all fine and dandy if we listen to him"

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke softly "I understand that you do not trust me, but please believe that I know what I am doing."

"Sir I find it hard to believe. Dumbledore you are…I'm sorry but I can't think of a non-insulting way to describe you so I'm going to insult you, hope you're fine with that but I'll do it even if you aren't. You are a delusional and senile old bastard who believes that if everything goes your way the world will be as right as rain."

"Harry I have been fighting Voldemort longer than anybody else" Dumbledore argued

"You also helped create Voldemort" Harry argued back, Dumbledore looked at harry with disbelief and wondered how he knew that "when you brought Voldemort, or Tom riddle as he was known then, to Hogwarts, you didn't pay enough attention to him. Either that or you ignored him, you didn't notice him turning to the dark arts, you didn't notice him going into the chamber of secrets and you didn't notice that he had already began recruiting when he was in Hogwarts.

You're hoping that you could guide me into killing him and fulfilling the prophecy, perhaps you think that it makes up for your past mistakes or maybe you believe that it will be another impressive accomplishment for you. Or perhaps your stupid enough to think that you're the only one who can guide me, I don't really care what you believe but know that I don't believe in you"

"Hey! Dumbledore is a great man" Ron spoke in defence of the headmaster

"Ron, your opinion is about as valuable as you, so shut it. Now, unless there is anything else, I'd like to go before you dumbasses waste anymore of my brain power, I would have figured that you three would know how important that is seeing as it's the one thing you do not have but apparently not.

If you'll excuse me, I'd like to leave, I'll need to visit the hospital wing to make sure you brain vampires haven't been sipping my intelligence, I mean, you clearly have. Look at Ron, he's managed to master standing, breathing, blinking and looking angry at the same. I would leave you all with a thought before I go but I doubt any of you would have any place to put it." Harry left, giving the three the finger as he did.

Soon came the day of their results, Harry and Ginny passed all of their exams and spent the night celebrating. The next day the happily married couple spent the entire day meeting people in school and saying their goodbyes, they had many emotional moments with teachers and students.

They even visited Hagrid in his hut, the ghosts, elves, portraits and Ellie in the chamber of secrets. Harry was also pleased to know that his werewolf cure was nearly completed and would soon be going under the testing phase.

"Harry" A voice called out, Astoria Greengrass walked over to him and Ginny "can I talk to you in private?"

"Sure" Harry replied as they went into an abandoned classroom, Harry and Ginny put up some privacy charms before turning to Astoria.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked "you look tense"

"It's Daphne" Astoria answered "she hasn't been taking the news of your departing well, I mean, she was at first but now that you're going she's a bit upset."

"I'm guessing this isn't the usual missing someone" Harry spoke

"Yes" Astoria nodded "she's gotten a whole better thanks to you but she still doesn't like boys or men touching her. The only males that are allowed to touch her at the moment are you and dad, she's worried that once you leave Hogwarts then she'll have less protection. Plus there is the whole business with her marriage contracts"

"Marriage contracts?" Harry said as he mentally prepared to tear someone a new one

"Calm down" Ginny nudged him after sensing his emotions "let's hear the whole story first, what marriage contracts?"

"They're family contracts" Astoria explained "not made by my dad, in fact he hates them. But as Daphne is the oldest Greengrass girl then she must marry someone and if she dies or becomes unavailable to do it then I will have to. She's afraid to be touched but there is no way that she is going to let that happen."

"The contracts" Harry spoke "as in more than one family?"

"Yeah, lots of different families want to marry into the Greengrass family. While we're neutral, we are also very powerful. Some may be hoping that they can use us to help the death eaters while others may be hoping to gain our money, name and wealth."

"Okay, give me a sec" Harry crossed his arms, he paced the room and began thinking, Astoria wanted to say something but was stopped by Ginny with a look that said 'wait'. Suddenly Harry stopped and his face lit up "I've had a great idea!" He exclaimed

"Harry that's brilliant!" Ginny shouted "he sent it to me using the bond" she explained to the confused Astoria.

"I'll go and tell Daphne, you can go and tell Astoria. Meet you in a few" Harry rushed out of the room and straight to the Slytherin common room.

When Harry entered the common room the Slytherin's were very surprised and a few were very scared, those few thought that Harry had thought that they were death eaters or was going to kill them to send a message to death eater relatives.

"Where the bloody hell is Daphne Greengrass?" Harry demanded

"Why should we tell you?" Pansy responded, she was very fearful but a little too stubborn to back down

"Parkinson, you will shut up and tell me before I make you look more like a dog then you already do."

"You wouldn't" Pansy shouted, the other Slytherin's backed away on the off chance that he would.

"What's that on your arm?" Harry asked casually "is that a dark mark?"

"NO" Pansy backed away, she didn't have a dark mark on her arm so she really didn't know what Harry was talking about

"You see, I see a dark mark." Harry responded "because when I want something and an idiot gets in the way then I see a dark mark on their arms, as of the moment you're the idiot. Now, I won't kill you as you don't actually have a dark mark but don't think I'm above making sure you nearly die." The whole room was in silence, one first year had actually began saying a small prayer for Pansy, meanwhile Pansy couldn't back up anymore because there was a wall in the way.

"She's in her room" Pansy blurted out

"Turn right and third door from the end" Another Slytherin added

"Thanks" Harry walked past the Slytherin's and walked all the way to Daphne's room and knocked on the door "Daphne, it's me, Harry. Are you decent?"

"Harry?" The door flung open to reveal Daphne Greengrass "what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you to invite me in" Harry shrugged, Daphne stepped back and allowed him to come in before closing the door

"Why are you here?" Daphne asked

"I had a talk with your sister" Harry replied "she told me about your concerns regarding me and Ginny leaving and the marriage contracts" Daphne stiffened, before regaining her composure

"It's nothing Harry, you have enough to worry about without me"

"It's not nothing" Harry insisted "there's nothing more important to me than family, like it or not, you are family and I am going to help you. Besides, I already have a plan"

"Plan?"

"You know that I am legally of age and allowed to do all things that adults do"

"Knowing you, you'd probably do it even if you weren't"

"Anyway" Harry continued "you know how we are unofficial brother and sister, how would you like to legally be my sister?"

"What?!" Daphne's eyes widened

"I'd like to make you a part of the Potter family and adopt you into the family"

"But Harry…why?" Daphne asked, disbelief and surprised covered her face

"If you do become a member of the Potter family then you will no longer be a Greengrass and the marriage contracts don't apply to you."

"But they will still apply to Astoria" Daphne objected

"Yes" Harry nodded "but hopefully by the time they can actually take effect we will be able to find a way to get rid of the contracts and if we don't then I will extend the same offer to Astoria. If we do get rid of the contracts then you and her can go back to being members of the Greengrass family. If not, then you have a home with me and Ginny."

"But…but we'd get in the way" Daphne didn't know why she was arguing but she felt like she had to.

"You can stay in our guest house, its right next the our house. You would have to walk all of thirty seconds to get to our house from it. The guest house isn't as good as our house but you should like it and if not then we can use expansion charms or add whatever you want to it. "

"What about our parents"

"You can visit them whenever you want and we'll talk to them about this together"

"What about Astoria?"

"Ginny is running the idea with her now, wait a sec… Ginny just told me that Astoria approves and is willing to do it if you are"

"But…"

"Daphne" Harry interrupted "I am stubborn enough to go against Dumbledore and Voldemort, do you really think you stand a chance?" Daphne took in his words, slowly a smile appeared on her face.

"I guess not…but, you're actually serious?"

"Yes" Harry answered "this Hogsmead weekend we can go to your parents and discuss it, if the people behind the contracts are death eaters then I can deal with them personally and if they're not then we'll see if we can deal with it using legal means and if not then I will adopt you into Potter family. If you do want to join the family then I'll key you into the house wards and give you an emergency portkey to take you there in case you ever need to escape a bad situation."

"Thank you Harry" Daphne hugged him tightly, Harry gently hugged her back. He felt his shoulder was getting a bit wet but he decided ignore it. Soon Daphne released him, she wiped the tears off of her face and the two began talking. They talked for a few minutes before Harry had to leave. They both stood up and Daphne insisted on walking him out.

"What are you talking about?!" He heard Draco Malfoy shout, Harry and Daphne entered the common room to find Malfoy shouting at Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott, the three hadn't notice him come in but the rest of the common room did. Harry gestured Daphne to stay. "What do you mean you aren't going to join?"

"Exactly what we said" Blaise replied "Harry has been kind to the two of us and asked for nothing in return, he never judged us or thought that we were just slimy snakes. We're not planning to prove him wrong"

"When the dark lord rises to power, he will kill Potter"

"Harry has beaten both Dumbledore and Voldemort, so I doubt that would happen. I'm not worried about death eaters either. You know how strong Harry is, we know that if he waned to kill you then you'd be dead right now."

"What about you?!" Draco ignored Blaise and turned on Nott "Potter put both of our fathers in Azkaban, join the dark lord and get revenge"

"Revenge?" Theodore asked "why would I want revenge on Potter? Like Blaise said, Potters been nothing but civil to us Slytherin's, and frankly I'm rather hoped that he did kill my dad. My father is a sadistic madman, and after all the things he did to my mother and I, I wouldn't blame Potter if he did kill him. In fact I'm rather disappointed at the fact that he didn't."

"Well I apologies for that" Harry spoke, Malfoy turned and jumped back when he saw Harry standing in front of him. Nott and Blaise shared a look before they grinned and stepped out of the way. "Don't worry Nott" Harry took a step and stopped in front of Draco. "Your father will get his one day, and I appreciate both of your loyalty. As for you Draco, I will get your father as well. Now, let's see if I have a reason to get rid of you"

Harry pulled Draco's arm and Draco looked fearful as he looked into the killing curse green eyes of Potter. Harry wandlessly cut the sleeve so he could see Draco's forearm, Nott and Blaise looked at it as well and the rest of the house looked on in anticipation.

"And the results have come in...you, Draco Malfoy are a death eater" Harry gripped Malfoys arm tightly, Malfoy tried to pull it away but Harry was too strong. Draco grabbed his wand with the other hand and aimed it right at Harry's head.

"Avada kedavra!" Malfoy roared as he shot the blast at Harry.

Harry dodged but the blast flew straight to a first year, Harrys eyes widened as he saw the green light head towards the young girl. Harry let Malfoy go and quickly set about protecting the girl, he could deal with Malfoy after, he quickly waved his hands and used wandless magic and pushed the girl to the side so she could avoid the curse.

The hard part was doing it delicately enough so as not to hurt the girl as it would be pointless if she broke her neck after being thrown at a wall while doing it fast enough to stop her from dying but Harry managed to pull it off, barley.

Malfoy had started running, he stopped at the common room door and fired another killing curse at Harry who dodged, when another Curse came Harry flicked his wrist and his wand came into his hand. He preferred to keep wandless magic a secret and only use it when he absolutely had to, Harry summoned a book from the nearby sofa and used it to block the curse.

Malfoy changed tactic and fired a curse at a random Slytherin, Harry tossed the book and made a bird using his wand which shot out and flew at high speed and intercepted the curse. Malfoy by that point had turned and tried to run, but was pulled back and thrown in the middle of the common room.

Draco stood up, and pointed his wand at Harry, Draco had a panicked look on his face. He was afraid, he was scared and he was not thinking straight. He grabbed a fourth year Slytherin girl and held her in front if him, he placed his wand on her neck. The girl stiffened as she felt the wand being pushed into her skin.

"BACK OFF POTTER!" Draco screamed "I'LL KILL HER!"

"Will you?" Harry asked with an amused expression.

Something about Harrys lack of reaction lowered the tension in the Slytherin common room. Some might think that he was acting but the others knew, they knew that he was confident and they knew that he usually had good reason to be confident. Even the girl who Malfoy had taken hostage, relaxed a little at the calm expression in Harrys eyes.

"I'm walking out of here!" Malfoy said, almost to make himself believe it.

"No" Harry adopted a cold voice "you aren't."

"I'm not joking!" Malfoy shouted "I'll blow her brains out!"

"That would require the use of your arm and that's a privilege that I am planning to take away from you when I take your life."

"In case you haven't noticed, my wand is currently pressed against this bitch!"

"There's a joke to be made there, but sadly I will not make that joke. Now, Malfoy, how many people have you killed?"

"W…what?!"

"How many people have you killed?" Harry repeated "answer me"

"Why?!" Draco demanded "you want to compare?! Is this a competition now?! Well, congratulations Potter, you've killed more than me! I haven't killed anyone yet!"

"Good"

"Good?!" Draco replied "Why are you going on about?! Why do you care how many I've killed?!"

"Have you tortured or raped anyone?" Harry calmly asked, ignoring Draco's questions

"NO I HAVEN'T!" Draco snapped "I ONLY JUST GOT THE BLEEDIN MARK YESTERDAY!" A tear dripped out of Draco's eyes.

"I knew it" Harry spoke softly after he subtly read Draco's mind

"Knew what?! Huh?! What did you know?! You don't know anything about me! What did you know?!"

"I know that you're still redeemable Draco" Harry replied "you may have been a jerk, you probably still are one, but you're not evil. You're not a death eater"

"YES I AM!" Draco roared, he now pointed his wand at Harry.

"No" Harry shook his head "you aren't. You're someone who grew up being shaped and molded by your father, your father changed you and made you what he wanted you to be."

"Don't talk about my father!"

"Draco, think about it, please just think for a second. You're father, I think it's safe to assume he mentioned how horrible muggles are a lot. I think it's safe to say dad was also very distant from you"

"What are you going on about?!"

"It's a great tactic, very Slytherin if I do say so. I can assume your mother gave you constant affection, she seemed like the type to really care about a child, you didn't need to win her affections. Your dad, a different story wasn't he? The only time he ever gave you affection was when you acted like a Malfoy and used your name and money to get what you want or when you act like a death eater. Think about it, actually think about it and tell me if I'm wrong."

Draco wanted to blast Potter but knew he needed to stall until he came up with a way to escape, he thought that he could humour Potter. He remembered his childhood, he had to admit that his mum did baby him. That was a fair point, and then he thought about his father. He thought about his childhood and his interactions with his father and….and….P….Potter….potter was right! Now that Draco thought about it, he realized that Potter was right! Bloody Potter was bloody right!

His father loved it when Draco insulted the muggleborns and called them mud-bloods, his father had barley shown an interest in him when he was younger but as soon as he was ten, his father started caring, probably to prepare him to be a Malfoy and represent the family properly. He noticed the little light in his father's eyes the first time he said mud blood.

"Tell me Draco, which do you value more?" Harry brought him out of his thoughts "your loving mother or your father who only accepted you once you started acting like him?"

"SHUT UP!" Draco shouted, his wand gripped even tighter "you don't know what you're talking about?"

"Don't I?" Harry asked "in case you've forgotten Draco, I used to live with muggles who hated magic. Not all muggles are like that, most of them are really kind but I drew the short straw and landed with the worst ones possible. They beat me because I was different, Draco, they nearly killed me because I was different.

They wanted to make me a mindless slave for them to order around and harm for their own pleasure, do you know what I did? Once I learned magic, do you know what I did? I escaped them and now I'm my own man and I AM FREE! Draco, I am happy, I have a happy life because I chose to live my own. You don't have to be your father, you don't have to be a death eater, you don't even have to be a Malfoy. Just be yourself, I promise you, you'll feel a lot better for it."

"The dark lord will kill me, he'll kill me and…"

"Draco! He is a joke! His real name is Tom Riddle and he is the son of a squib and a muggle yet he is the self-appointed 'pure-blood champion', he is proof of what I've always been saying. Blood has nothing to do with talent, me and him are both half-bloods and we have pretty much all the pure-bloods in England cowering in fear. Would you like proof? Because I can provide it for you. Stink, Dobby"

"Yes master" The elves popped in

"Go and get Salazar from the chamber of secrets please" Harry spoke politely and the elves popped off, the Slytherin's all collectively widened their eyes.

They couldn't believe what they had just heard, some were not even sure that they actually heard Harry say Salazar and the chamber of secrets. A few seconds later the elves popped in with a painting, the man in the painting had long hair and a long beard, both were white and he was dressed in green robes. It didn't take a genius to deduce that this was Salazar Slytherin.

"Harry!" Salazar screamed joyfully "I thought you were leaving! Ellie is very upset but she'll get over it eventually."

"I was leaving but I ran into a little snag" Harry gestured to Draco

"HEY!" Salazar shouted "are you going to let that girl go or am I going to have to get out of this portrait and deal with you myself?!" Draco turned white and quickly let the girl go, who as a way of saying thank you, punched Draco right in the nose.

"Nice punch" Harry praised her

"I agree, wonderful technique" Salazar added

"Thank you sir" The embarrassed girl nodded and moved out of the way

"Now Harry, you mentioned a snag? Anything I can help you with? Just say the word."

"Yes, I was hoping you could tell everyone about Voldemort"

"That brat!" Salazar spat "why on earth do any of them want to learn about that cocky little shite?"

"Well you know how I told you he about him and his army of death eaters?" Harry replied "Draco, the blonde one, I'm trying to persuade him not to join. Admittedly it'd be easier and much more enjoyable to kill him but I'm feeling charitable today"

"Very well" Salazar looked at Draco "listen up pretty boy, if you chose to join Tom's army then I will give my heir full permission to kill you."

"Your heir?"

"Yes, Harry Potter is my chosen heir" Salazar answered, the Slytherin's all looked at Harry like he was a superhero "Tom might be by blood but I have chosen Harry to be my heir and thanks to him defeating Tom, he can officially be recognized as my heir."

"But…but why not…"

"Why not Voldemort?" Salazar interrupted "because he is an idiot, despite being a half-blood he is under the impression that only pure-bloods are suited to magic."

"But you hated muggles!" Draco argued

"Who said that? The history books? Books aren't always right, I never hated muggles or muggleborns. I just said that muggles shouldn't be allowed to come to Hogwarts and that muggleborns should be taught magic somewhere before they're allowed to come to Hogwarts so they could catch up with those who were already using magic. This whole blood superiority is the result of massive misinterpretation by others, I have no problem with muggles, squibs or half-bloods." Another bombshell dropped on the Slytherin common room, Salazar Slytherin himself had basically proclaimed the blood system to be bullshit. Draco couldn't even speak.

"Now, is that all?"

"Yes" Harry nodded "thanks Sal"

"Anytime Harry" The elves took the painting and popped away. Harry rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a small vial filled with a certain potion. He tossed it to Draco.

"Here you go, that will remove your dark mark for you, if you choose to take it. If I was you then I would take it, go to your mother the go to Gringotts. Your father might be in Azkaban but he won't be permanently, take all you can and run. If you and your mum need help then I can get you to a safe house.

This is your one chance Draco, your chance to prove that the you're not just a death eater. Your chance to live in a world where you can be yourself and live a happy life with your mother, and maybe even someone special if you can find them. Make your choice Draco but know that it is your choice, not your dads and the consequences will be on your head. If you need a safe house then have your mother contact me, if you chose not to accept, then I can live knowing I gave you that chance."

Harry turned, he winked at Daphne before leaving the common room. Draco Malfoy, slumped into the couch behind him. Everything that just happened had hit him like a pack of wild hippogriffs and he could barely process it all, he didn't notice the looks from the other members of the common room as he shoved his head into his hands. Blaise and Theodore had a sympathetic look, they still thought he was a total and utter asshole but they understood and silently instructed the common room to leave Draco to think.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36 – Good day, broken order and werewolves.

Many things in Harry and Ginny's life were going great at the moment, hopefully they didn't jinx it but it was undeniable that things were great. They had passed their exams and left the school before Dumbledore or the annoying Duo could stop them, and Harry spent most of his free time hunting death eaters. The werewolf potion had been successful on the trial run and Lupin didn't even transform.

The man was the definition of happiness when he found out, they would have to do some more test and see if it had actually worked next full moon but they were pretty sure that it would work. The tears of joy that poured from his face could probably fill a bath tub. Malfoy did eventually come around, his mother sent a very enthusiastic letter of thanks to him but declined the offer of a safe house and said she already had one prepared. The two Malfoys took all their money, Malfoy removed the dark mark and left the country.

Daphne and her family had agreed to Harry's offer and Daphne had been adopted into the Potter family thanks to a blood ritual that the goblins were kind enough to perform after taking a reasonable amount of money. The goblins were also paid a bit extra as a thank you present and the goblins were understandably thrilled. Daphne Potter was now Harry's blood adopted sister, she moved into Harry's guest house once the Christmas holidays had started. Harry and Ginny popped by that evening to find that Daphne had decorated her entire room into a Slytherin green colour.

Daphne and the couple spent some time discussing many things such as Hogwarts without Harry and Ginny, quidditch, death eaters and even the Greengrass family marriage contracts. Most of them were from death eaters who, for unexplained reasons, have been moved to the top of Harry's kill list. The rest could be dealt with easily by the lawyers, as of the moment there was only one family left that ccould force the marriage contract but they were another neutral family and didn't seem likely to do it. But Daphne, Ginny and Harry made plans just in case they did. Life was good, Harry didn't know if it would last but he decided to enjoy it while he did.

He decided to visit Sirius one day but when he got there it appeared that there was another meeting of the order and they were all waiting for Dumbledore. Not one to waste an opportunity, Harry took the seat that Dumbledore usually took and sat as relaxed as a person could be and conversed with Sirius and Remus. After a minute or two, Dumbledore entered via the floo. He was about to make his way to the seat when he found Harry sitting in there.

He saw that some of the order looked amused as Harry talked with Sirius and Remus, the others were wondering what he was doing here. Molly, Ron and Hermione were all growling at him.

"Harry?"

"Dumbles" Harry nodded

"What are you doing here?" Dumbledore asked

"Well I came to visit Sirus but I didn't know that there was an order meeting until I got here. So...Dumbledore...done anything remotely helpful to the war effort yet?"

"Harry, please, I implore you to see reason. We need to work together if we are to stop Voldemort"

"Really? Because so far I have more than halved his forces and I have beat him multiple times. All on my own, I have made a bigger impact in my limited time attempting to stop them than you have since Voldemort started to recruit."

"What happens the day that someone decides that you need to be killed? What will you do then?"

"Tell them that they had better not miss" Harry shrugged "because if they do, then I won't"

"Harry, you need to listen to me! You need to return to Hogwarts! You need to allow me to guide you! You've fallen off the path Harry, you are turning dark!"

"Dark?" Harry laughed "so I'm dark because I don't obey the great Albus Dumbledore or am I dark because of all the death eaters I killed?"

"Harry, you know he is right" Hermione spoke up "you can't go around and kill whoever you like"

"I don't kill whoever I like, I haven't killed you for one." Harry replied "I haven't killed you, despite the constantly growing temptation to do so, the only people I kill are those who deserve it. Wake up guys! We are at war! People die in wars, but it's better to kill off the enemy then let our own die. We didn't start this but it is our job to end it. You all joined because you wanted to protect people, and you're doing that how? By chucking them into a prison that Voldemort can pull them out of?

Unlike you all, I have thought about the consequences. Yes I will be judged, yes you all think I'm evil, yes I have lost my innocence, yes I am willing to do things that you aren't and yes, my soul is probably dammed. When you kill, you take a life, a soul but when it disappears it takes a bit of yours with it."

"You can't just order everyone to kill" Dumbledore argued

"I'm not" Harry replied "I am just asking you to allow me to do so, while I will not kill innocents, I will rid the world of the rest of them and you lot don't have to put yourselves in unnecessary danger. The way I see it, you all have two choices, keep in mind that they could affect the entire war and your health. Your first choice is to do everything exactly like last time and listen to Dumbledore blindly and without question, and then take the responsibility of telling people that the reason they no longer have the same amount of family members is because you all weren't willing to finish the job or you were worrying about the 'greater picture'. Then once your done with that, you can hope another miracle child can come along and defeat Voldemort, good luck with that. Your second is to get out of my way. I'd recommend the second...it's the least painful"

The members of the order, except for the three stubborn ones thought about Harrys words. This is a war, and people will die but they'd rather the death eaters take that job than them. Azkaban wasn't working as good as it did in the past, and Harry was getting good results on his own, better then they've had in years.

"You can't threaten us!" Dumbledore bellowed

"I can do what I like" Harry calmly replied "haven't any of you ever thought about why magic gave me permission to do what I needed? Have you ever considered it was because I deserve it or because I needed it to do what I do? I am weakening his force, I am scaring his death eaters and he knows that. He knows that I'm a threat and I am one of the reasons his death eaters are more cautious, they're scared of me and what I can do, just like you Dumbledore.

You may consider yourself as Merlin's gift to wizard kind but to me your just an attention seeking old man who desperately wants to be important. Never mind the fact that we nearly lost the last war while following your orders or the fact that you never managed to get my godfather a trial or the fact that you have stolen from me, taken away my rights and tried to desperately control my life. So, you'll forgive me for not exactly having a great amount of faith in you"

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" Mrs Weasley shouted "How dare you talk to the headmaster like that?! You rude boy! I can't believe you...what are you smirking at?!"

Harry was indeed smirking, in fact most of the order was. A few of them even stepped back and moved away from Molly. Sirius was grinning while Moony had chosen to cover his mouth with his hands, Tonks was also trying not to laugh and Kingsley's lips curved up while Moody just smiled wildly. Both of his eyes watched with anticipation, Ron and Hermione had just realised what happened.

"Molly" Dumbledore spoke softly "I appreciate your support but there is a time to shut up, and that was one of them"

"What? What are you on about?" A confused Molly asked

"I finally broke her guys" Harry smiled "finally did it"

"Mum!" Ron hissed "You're not supposed to shout!" Molly paled as she realised what she had done.

"Now...now Harry, don't you think that we could forget all of this?" She said with pleading eyes

"I would" Harry replied "but, unfortunately I'm a 'rude boy' and I'm choosing not to. Kreatcher!" Harry called the house elf "We don't pay you nothing for nothing! Do your job!"

"Gladly master" Kreatcher walked in to the room, with an evil smile, cracking his knuckles as he did. He walked straight for Mrs Weasley.

"Now listen here" Ron moved towards the elf "listen up, you little bat! You're going to…" What Kreatcher was going to do was never said, as Kreatcher blasted him and he ended up unconscious on the floor.

"Wait!" Hermione stepped in front of Kreatcher "you don't need to do this"

"Master ordered Kreatcher to do this" Kreatcher replied

"But you don't have to listen! You can do whatever you want!"

"Well, in that case" Kreatcher then proceeded to blast Hermione and she landed next to Ron. Molly Weasley was thrown out of the house, literally, the order members actually clapped for the little elf who had adopted a slight blush. Arthur apologised and chose to walk out on his own two feet, he then dragged a screaming Mrs Weasley back to the burrow.

"Kreatcher!" Sirius spoke "I'm proud of you! Take the day off as a reward"

"Thank you master" Kreatcher bowed before leaving.

"Now, were was I?" Harry continued "ah yes, we're at war and I'm going to do whatever is necessary. If you don't like it then get out and let the big boys handle it."

"Harry, I'm afraid I cannot allowed that" Dumbledore said with a serious voice "if you continue to defy me then I will stop you"

"I have no doubt that you will try Dumbledore" Harry was still very relaxed, a fact that pissed off Dumbledore "but like I've said on previous occasions, there is no stopping me. You're very lucky I'm not on the dark side, because if I was then you would be screwed. No, I'm working for the..." Harry seemed to be in thought for a moment before he smiled with a smile that was wide enough to break his jaw and gave Dumbledore a highly amused look, he copied Dumbledore's eye twinkle before he responded "I believe that you would call it 'the greater good'" Harry snickered a little while Dumbledore stood without his twinkle or grandfatherly smile, he looked ready to kill.

He aimed his wand at Harry and shot a stunner, Harry was prepared, he maintained constant vigilance just as much, if not more, than Moody. He pushed off the table with his feet, and flipped backwards as he and the chair fell to the ground. The stunner passed just over his head, narrowly missing his forehead; Harry landed on his feet in a crouching position then leaped under the table.

By this point Moody, Moony and Sirius had aimed their wands at Dumbledore, as did Tonks and Shacklebolt and one or two other members of the order. The others looked on in shock, seeing the headmaster attack Potter had really began to make them doubt his sanity.

Dumbledore dropped to his knees after he felt something strike him in his knees, Harry popped out from under the table and grabbed the back of Dumbledore's head and slammed him into the table before he threw him into the fireplace.

"Headmasters office, Hogwarts" Harry shouted before he threw some floo powder into the fireplace and Dumbledore was flooed away. Harry turned to the order.

"There you go people, your leader of the light, resorting to attacking people who don't obey him. In case you haven't noticed, I'd like to make you aware that Dumbledore is not all powerful, I've beat him before and I did it with a plate. An actual plate!

The world is more complex than just good and evil, anyone who speaks against Dumbledore is considered dark, why? The one thing that Dumbledore and Voldemort have in common is that they are nothing more than powerful wizards who have blind followers that believe that they will make the world better. Think for yourselves! Are you going to let Dumbledore tell you what to do for the rest of your lives? Haven't any of you ever wondered why you never actually went after death eaters? How many meetings have you had about me? How many times has Dumbledore came up with an idea and you just went along with it, without questioning him?

How many of you blindly do what he says with all the devotion and effort you can muster? Because, like it or not, that's exactly what the death eaters do. I'll be off, now, I hope you all at least think on what I've said. Good day to you."

Harry left via the fireplace and left several order members thinking on his words, in truth they thought that Dumbledore was a bit too focused on Potter and not as focused on you-know-who.

"I have an announcement to make" Sirius stood, Remus stood alongside him. "Me and my good friend, Remus, have decided to quit the order."

"Yes, the order is not helping at all" Remus added "Dumbledore is hiding too much information and he is definitely not the leader we want nor the leader that any of us need right now. I'm pretty confident in my guess, and I am quite sure that Dumbledore has not told any of you about the prophecy yet, has he?" Remus asked knowingly.

"What prophecy?" One member asked

"The one we had to guard last year" Moody answered

"Yes, it's between Harry and Voldemort" Sirius added "apparently it says that Harry is the only one who can defeat Voldemort. Dumbledore, in his infinite wisdom, decided to guard it instead of telling Harry it or have Harry remove it and place it with a fake copy and destroy it. Face it guys, I know you all see Dumbledore as the reincarnation of Merlin but he is more of a problem at this point."

"Yes" Remus nodded "Harry is ridiculously powerful, especially for his age, he has beaten both Dumbledore and Voldemort in duels and he has had more impact against the death eaters on his own then we have had in the years that we have worked for Dumbledore. Me and Padfoot have decided that we will no longer support Dumbledore, from now on, all of our support goes to Harry."

"Me as well" Moody said "Potter has been saying what I've been saying for years, we need to go on the offensive and take the fight to them if we want any chance at defeating them. Dumbledore is too focused on his grand plans. Potter has the right idea, he is allowed to kill and he makes great use of the fact"

"I'm in too" Tonks piped in "but I don't know how much help we will be, Harry is the only one allowed to actually kill here."

"True" Shacklebolt agreed "but we can help him with information and other ways. Needless to say, I am also in."

The other members of the order agreed, some took some convincing, some more than others but one by one they were all coming around, at the end of it the order was broken up. Sirius had even suggested writing a letter to send Dumbledore that would be covered in prank charms.

"No" Remus stopped him "you are not sending a letter to Dumbledore"

"But Moony..." Sirus whined

"No" Remus said firmly "you are not sending a letter with prank charms...not when you can send a howler"

"Brilliant Moony!" Sirius exclaimed "you always were the best marauder"

"Was he?" McGonagall raised an eyebrow "I was always under the impression that Mr Lupin was the most behaved of you four"

"It's not that I'm the 'nice one', I was just the only one smart enough not to get caught" Remus smirked. McGonagall looked furious, for a brief second before a small smile made its way onto her lips.

The second day after the Christmas holidays had finished, Albus sat at dinner, plotting as he ate. Wondering what he could do about Harry, he couldn't lock him up thanks to him being above the law. A fact that angered Dumbledore greatly, he was Albus Dumbledore and if anyone should be above the law because of magic then it should be him. His only hope was to make the arrogant brat see reason and join him.

Maybe he could get his old friend to give him some advice, he has been helpful over the years.

He was interrupted from his musings by an owl that dropped by and delivered a red letter, the letter rose into the air and that was when he realised that it was a howler, but he didn't understand why. Molly Weasley was the only one he knew who still used them, mostly because the woman can do nothing but shout when she's angry and she would not let distance be a factor that would stop her. The students also looked with intrigue.

"Albus Dumbledore" Sirius's voice echoed throughout the silent hall, despite being of a normal tone of voice "on behalf of myself and the rest of the order, I would like to say that you are a colossal prat who should just retire and let those with a brain run the school and fight the war"

The entire hall was silent, the students all smiled. Many of them, mostly Slytherin's, never liked Dumbledore. Those who did, grew out of doing so by Harry Potter. They saw what he had suffered because of those muggles and Dumbledore's decision to put him there, it was becoming painfully clear that Dumbledore was trying to control Potter and make him another one of his puppets. Even the first years had heard all about him and those who hadn't decided to ask the older students about it.

"You clearly have no idea what you are doing" Sirius's voice continued "you don't inform people of your plans, you never take other opinions into account and it was because of your leadership that we nearly lost the last war and we would have done if not for the miracle child that is my godson, Harry Potter. A boy that you have tried to manipulate and control your whole life. While he is out there stopping death eaters, you decide to waste time stopping him instead of fighting Voldemort because you think he is dark and apparently anyone who doesn't work with Dumbledore is dark.

With that being said, me and the rest of the have agreed that we will no longer work for you. As of right now, the order will no longer be welcomed in my home and on behalf of the rest of the order, we quit. I now have only one thing left to say, so listen up...YOU OLD INCOMPETENT, STUPID, SENILE, STUBBORN ASS! IF YOU DARE TO STEP FOOT IN MY HOUSE AGAIN THEN I WILL HAVE YOU ARRESTED! GOOD DAY TO YOU SIR!

P.S…. Remus says hi and the exact same. He also maintains that you are…." The following curse words would never be repeated, never, ever repeated. The voice stopped talking and the letter squirted some green goo at Dumbledore's beard before it burst into flames.

Dumbledore was about to get rid of the goo when it disappeared into his beard, suddenly Dumbledore's bead started growing and growing and kept doing that. By the time that Dumbledore had managed to get out of the hall, it had quadrupled in length.

It took Dumbledore a whole day to get rid of the beard but he had done it, eventually, his beard had returned to its original length. He had called Professor McGonagall to his office, after the usual greetings the two began discussing the topic that Albus wanted to talk about.

"Minerva" He spoke "as you are aware, I have received a howler yesterday from Mr Black that has forbidden me from returning to headquarters while also stating that all the members of the order have quit."

"Yes" McGonagall took a deep breath "that happened shortly after Mr Potter had thrown you out, he had pointed out how he had beat you and the fact that many of the members follow you blindly. After that, Sirius and Remus began talking, and one by one everyone started to quit."

"This is deeply troubling" Dumbledore stroked his beard "we must think of a way to make them see sense"

"No Albus" McGonagall said sadly "it is you who must be forced to see sense"

"ME?!" Dumbledore blurted out in surprise "what could you possibly mean?" It would do him no good to lose Professor McGonagall, she was a strict but fair teacher and one of the best he's ever had. She also took up a lot of the school responsibilities which left him with enough time to plot ways to stop Voldemort and convert Harry to the light. Losing her could also badly affect Dumbledore's image.

"Yes, you!" McGonagall snapped "needless to say I have lost a great deal of respect for you! At first I saw you as a kind and caring man but over the years I have started to change my opinions"

"Minerva..."

"No, Albus" She said firmly "everyone keeps telling you the same thing but you don't listen because you are too stubborn to do so. You-know-who is back and we are at war yet you are hindering our efforts at survival to support your own beliefs and big plan! As Potter has said, on numerous occasions, he is making a big impact on the death eaters and you seem to be doing nothing but slowing him down"

"Minerva, see sense!" Dumbledore was getting very worried "surely you, of all people, cannot go around and condone mass killings"

"Albus, theses deaths will happen whether I condone them or not, but like everyone else, I'd prefer it to be death eaters rather than innocent children and families. Albus, Potter has the death eaters running scared and you could have taken advantage of that fact but you preferred to try and fail at convincing Potter to join you. You realise that all the order members are concerned with your unhealthy obsession of the boy."

"I am not obsessed"

"Not obsessed?!" McGonagall laughed "I wouldn't be surprised if your every thought rested on that boy. In your obsession you have become unprofessional, constantly gotten involved in matters that don't concern you, constantly called him to your office for non-school related matters and you have constantly tried to gather information on the boy or make him join you!"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, Albus, that I have also quit the order. If you chose to fire me from my position as deputy headmistress or head of house then you had better give the board a better reason than 'she disagrees with me' or 'she refuses to stay a part of my club'. If you talk to Professors Flitwick and Sprout then they can tell you similar things. Good day to you!" McGonagall stood and left.

'Unlikely' Dumbledore thought 'everyone love me!'

Later that day, Dumbledore had a conversation with the head of Hufflepuff house, he called her to his office and after the usual greetings he began talking. While she wasn't a member, she knew all about the order.

"I'm sure you know about the order quitting" He said "I'm pretty sure you can agree with me when I say that this is ridiculous and we need to convince them to return and work with me"

"No" Sprout immediately replied "I am in total agreement with them, if you lead them the same way you lead this school then I can totally understand why."

"What do you mean? I'm a great headmaster!"

"Ha" Sprout scoffed "you?! Maybe at first but over the years you've been rather idiotic with how you handle situations. I mean trolls, traps that a couple of first years could get through, being taken to court over forced guardianship of a student, constantly letting people get away with minor punishments and there is also your constant meddling in the affairs of Mr Potter. All of the staff are concerned regarding your unhealthy obsession with the boy"

"Harry need me to guide him" Dumbledore replied "without me the boy will fall from the light"

"Harry was never in the light" Sprout spat "he was just smart about it. He may have the bravery of a Gryffindor and loyalty of a Hufflepuff but he also had the intelligence of a Ravenclaw and cunning of a Slytherin. Harry has played you the entire time he has been in Hogwarts and has constantly gotten stronger and smarter since he enrolled, yet you think he needs you?"

"There is no way that Harry could 'play' me"

"Oh yeah?" Sprout smiled "did you ever wonder why he had gotten put in Gryffindor? I've heard him say he did it just so you could lower your guard around him. For someone so smart, you're not really very observant. Harry spent the years holding back until he was able to let loose, then he made his impact. The death eaters are afraid of him, the school and the rest of England are all in awe of him and he has the undying loyalty of many people.

While people are starting to lose respect for you, your reputation is sinking Albus. You're no longer the invincible leader of the light, you're an old man who's past his prime and I suggest you take an early retirement. Good day to you!" She stood and walked out before Dumbledore could respond.

'I must remember to get a new Herbology teacher' He mentally spoke before he sent a letter to Flitwick.

Soon, Professor Flitwick came into the office. Dumbledore was about to offer the usual greetings when Flitwick raised a hand to stop him.

"Listen Dumbledore" The small man stared coldly at him "I've heard about your conversations with Sprout and McGonagall and I only have one thing to say to you" Flitwick then proceeded to offer Albus the finger "Good day to you!" He walked out, slamming the door behind him as he did. Dumbledore sat in complete silence.

'I think I may have to replace the entire staff' He thought.

Not for the first time, Albus was left wondering what he should do. Harry seemed to be resisting his attempts to bring him to the light, and the worst part was that Harry is in such a unique situation. Harry could drag a person into the great hall and kill him and Dumbledore would not be allowed to take any legal action against him. If he didn't stop Harry soon then he could have another dark lord taking over and that is definitely not good, Harry could be worse than Voldemort ever was.

Dumbledore was supposed to spend the end of the year, taking Harry to go and retrieve the locket horcrux. But he didn't feel like doing that, fearing about what could happen if Harry learnt that they existed. Perhaps he would try to create one of his own, while on the subject of Horcruxes, Dumbledore wondered what happened to the ring. He had tracked it down but once he got to the location it wasn't there.

Dumbledore decided that it would be best if he thinks about it more tomorrow, he was too tired to do it now. Besides, if one more person says the words 'good day to you' then he will explode.

A burst of fire appeared above him and a letter dropped from it, it was another howler. It rose into the air, and formed into a mouth.

"Hello Dumbles" The cheery voice of Harry Potter came from it "I heard that your bird club has disbanded, something about having an incompetent leader. Never mind, it's not like they were of much use under your leadership anyway. I'd like to tell you not to worry, I'm here and I will handle those mean death eaters for you, you just relax yourself and stay out of the way. I'm sorry if I've hurt your precious feelings but I have to be honest, you are doing more harm than good and you need to stay out of the way.

If I have to put you in hospital to do so, then I will. Lives are at stake, get over yourself. I will defeat Voldemort, I mean look, and I've already got all of his horcruxes. I will destroy them all and I will destroy Voldemort and his death eaters. Stay out of the way, don't let your stubbornness be your downfall.

This is the end of my letter or howler, so I will part with the following words. As a failure, you are a great success and as a leader, you're about as successful as Ronald's Weasley is at homework. Now, good day to you sir!"

The letter exploded, but not before expelling a huge amount of feathers and goo at the headmaster. Dumbledore sat in silence, green goo all around his face and feathers stuck to him, at that point he decided that he would find whatever way Harry managed to make himself above the law just so he could do the same and kill the irritating boy.

Meanwhile, the irritating boy, was spending his time hunting. Today, his target was Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf that turned Remus. He figured that Remus wouldn't mind, in fact Remus would probably be jealous about the fact that he got to do it instead of him.

Greyback sat in a bar, sitting with his fellow death eaters. Greyback looked around, he knew that all of them looked at him like he was filth but he hated them too, so it was fair. He was a werewolf and unlike others, he was proud. He had embraced the wolf, he was stronger and faster than the rest, and he was better. He knew that for a fact.

He finished his drink, then left the bar, tonight was a full moon. While he didn't really care about the safety of others, he knew that he shouldn't turn or kill other death eaters without permission from the dark lord. He walked out, sneering at anyone he passed, an hour later he reached a forest. Far enough away from anyone else, but if someone wonders in then he wouldn't complain.

"Hello" A voice called, Greyback turned to see Harry Potter, sitting on a nearby rock. He was in his curse costume but he didn't have his hood up. He looked confident, the boy probably didn't know that tonight is a full moon. He sat there, twirling his wand in his hand.

"Hello" Greyback responded with a smile, revealing his sharp and yellow teeth "well, if it isn't the great Harry Potter? What brings you to these parts of the wood?"

"You, believe it or not, you see I have a friend. You bit him when he was a younger"

"Oh did I?" Greyback's smile got even bigger

"Yeah, he didn't appreciate that, you ruined his life. He is a good man, one of the nicest I have ever met, he is not related to me by blood but I still think of him as an uncle. He was ecstatic when I gave him the cure"

"WHAT?!" Greyback roared, he could feel the moon coming and the wolf calling. It was not helping his temper "you can't cure being a werewolf!"

"Yes you can" Harry looked undeniably pleased by Greyback's reaction "I invented the cure, remember Remus Lupin? No longer a werewolf, all thanks to me."

"You bastard! How dare you?!"

"It's not like I forced it on him"

"You cocky little shit" Greyback growled, he could feel the transformation coming along "when I transform I will eat you and shit out your remains"

"I imagine that will be difficult when I break your teeth" Harry stood up and pulled his hood up , he put his and back in his holster "come on Greyback, give us a challenge. I need a good warm up before I get back to my wife"

Greyback's bones transformed, as did the rest of him. His teeth became longer, his eyes turned yellow, he grew taller. Suddenly the wolf emerged, and looked directly at Curse, who was standing calmly in front of him. Greyback would usually just attack him, but there was something wrong with this human.

His instincts were telling him to run, he could practically smell death coming from him. There was also a familiar smell to him, an animal smell, he screamed danger. But the werewolf refused to back down, he was the alpha, he would not roll over.

He charged at the man, he tried to slash him with his claws. Curse did a reverse handspring and managed to get out of the way, the werewolf tried again, Curse ducked. The werewolf was about to try again when he got punched in the face. He stumbled back, confusion written over his face.

He was wondering why he's prey was so strong, he lunged at him, preparing to sink his fangs into the humans neck. Curse jumped up and jumped off the Greyback's head, Greyback went forward and crashed into a tree. He pulled his head off of the tree, and shook it, he growled.

Curse stood, he put his fists up, standing in a defensive position. Greyback charged and tried to crush the human with his claws, Curse moved forwards and grabbed the wolf by his wrist and upper arm and tossed him over his head with an impressive martial arts throw. The werewolf flew overhead and landed on his back, it immediately jumped back up to his feet and tried to attack him again.

Curse dodged three continuous claw slashes from the angry werewolf, the werewolf tried once more, Curse ducked and jumped to the side of the werewolf. He punched Greyback in the ribs and the wolf yelped in pain, and took a step back. Curse jumped in the air and punched Greyback in the face, knocking out a few teeth. The werewolf stumbled back, he had dealt with humans before and this was no ordinary human. He was too fast and strong, usually they'd be killed within a minute.

Curse continued to play with the werewolf for a few minutes, he would dodge, flip and duck out of the way and add the occasional punch or kick. Greyback was getting frustrated, he was getting tired and he was getting more wild. The only thing he had managed to hit was a tree, not counting the one time he accidentally scratched himself and the other time when he tried to bite Curse but ended up sinking his teeth into his own arm.

Curse narrowly dodged being bitten before he hit the werewolf with an uppercut then a jumping, spinning back kick in the face. The werewolf fell to the floor, it was tired and could barely stand. Curse was getting bored, he toyed with the werewolf for a few more minutes before he decided to finish it off.

Greyback was getting tired, and he decided that he had enough, he tried to run but the second he turned his back he was stopped. He was stopped by two arms that grabbed him from behind and out him in a bear hug, or in his case a werewolf hug, Curse tossed the werewolf overhead and the werewolf landed on his head.

Curse stood and removed a potion vial he had prepared before the encounter, once Greyback stood up, Curse tossed the vial into his mouth, then he followed by kneeing him in the mouth. This resulted in blood and teeth pouring out of Greyback's mouth along with pieces of glass and drops of potion.

Fortunately, enough potion was swallowed and Greyback realised what was happening. He thrashed about and scratched at anything in range, he shook his head violently, almost trying to fight the effects. But his efforts were futile, a minute later Greyback was on the floor in his human floor.

He laid there, naked and in pain. He was panicking, he couldn't feel it, he couldn't feel the wolf. The wolf was gone! Potter had taken his wolf away, he snarled at the man who stood above him. Looking down on him as if he was a common dog.

"How did you do that?!" Greyback demanded "no human can take on a werewolf, you're too strong to be a human. Even werewolves aren't that strong, you're not a vampire, so what are you?!"

"Death" Curse replied "I am your death and that is all you need to know"

"You took away my wolf!" Greyback snarled "Give it back!"

"You can join each other in the afterlife" Curse said in an attitude that let Greyback know that he didn't care. "How does it feel knowing that you'll die as a human? Knowing that when you die, you'll be on your own? Just you and no wolf."

Greyback, stood and jumped at Potter, his pain and the fact that Potter had just beaten his werewolf form in hand to hand combat was overshadowed by all his overwhelming rage. He charged at Potter and was hoping that he would be able to smash his head in or at the very least pull that hood up and remove his eyes.

Curse sidestepped and pulled Greyback into a rear headlock. However, Greyback was naked so Curse decided that he did not want to waste any more time being in such close proximity to this man, and once he got home he would be having a shower, just to be safe. He applied some force and a snap echoed throughout the forest, Curse let him go and Greyback's dead body fell to the floor. Curse conjured a body bag and placed Greyback into it.

At the ministry, Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour, the new minister of magic, rushed to the reception area for the entrance to the ministry of magic. Both were followed by ten aurors each, a lot of people stopped just to see the two. Both had been sent an urgent letter telling them to come there immidietley.

Once the two got there, they realised that there were a lot of reporters. They looked at each other, their faces telling the other one that they had no idea what was happening. All of a sudden, the people around them started going wild. Cameras started flashing, people started screaming and the aurors had all taken their wands out as had the two ministry officials.

The reason for this behaviour, soon became clear, Potter came walking up to the both of them. He was wearing his Curse costume with the hood down, to reveal his proud face. He was also dragging a big black bag with him, which everyone quickly realised was a body bag. He walked over to the two.

"Hello guys" He said cheerfully, the aurors all pointed their wands at him.

"Put them down" Amelia ordered "Lord Potter is above the law and you cannot arrest him, even if you could I doubt any of you would be able to capture him." The aurors all begrudgingly lowered their wands.

"Lord Potter" Rufus spoke up "I can assume that you were the one behind the letter that was sent to me and I can guess that Miss Bones had received a similar one." Amelia bones nodded and Rufus continued "What exactly are you planning?"

"Give us a sec" Harry grinned.

He pulled the zip of the bag open just enough to reveal Greyback's face. The aurors gasped, they all knew how strong an opponent Greyback was, even Mad-Eye Moody had to admit that Greyback was tough. Harry levitated the body so it hung in the air. He jumped up onto the receptionist table and turned to the crowd.

"Good evening" He spoke, everyone listened with undivided attention "for those of you who don't know, I am Harry James Potter. Also known as the 'boy-who-lived', 'saviour of the wizarding world', 'Curse', 'wrecker of reality' and 'overall badass'! I take pride in the last one. I want to talk to you all about something, I've spent a lot of time hunting death eaters and I'm pleased to say that I've cut down about three quarter of them." People from the crowd gasped in shock

"That's right, I am winning this war, we are winning this war! The death eaters are on the run! They're scared and they're afraid, I will hunt down each and every one of them and once I'm done I'm going for the biggest one, Voldemort." The crowd flinched and shuddered .

"I've beaten him multiple times and I can do it again. However there are a few things I want to inform you people about, things you deserve to know, things you need to know. The first thing you should know, is that my success, is being hindered by Albus Dumbledore.

The headmaster of Hogwarts is not pleased with me and that's because of a lot of reasons, which I will list for you. He is upset that he isn't the one stopping the death eaters, he's upset because I refuse to follow his long and overly convoluted plans, he is upset because he can't control me the same way he controls overs and he is upset because I am killing death eaters.

The man is living in a fantasy world, we all see a war but he sees a lovely little world where everyone can be redeemed. He has held back talented people from doing what they do best, I know all of you look at him like he is the reincarnation of Merlin but he's not.

Dumbledore and Voldemort have one thing in common, other than being a huge pain in the neck, they're both human. Voldemort can and will die and Albus Dumbledore is getting out of control. I mean just look at all the things he's done over the years.

He brought a Cerberus into school, repeatedly hired unstable and dangerous professors, taken an unhealthy and creepy interest in me, he never tried to free my godfather from Azkaban, he forced me to stay with abusive relatives, he ignores the students welfare and avoids punishing bullies because he hopes they change. There is much more than that, but if you want to know then ask your children, I'd be ranting all day otherwise and I have better things to do.

For those of you with functional eyes, you may have noticed the dead body floating above me. Fenrir Greyback, is the name of this particular corpse, I killed him today. Mr Greyback is a mass murdering psycho, and he is also a werewolf. It's people like him who give werewolves a bad name, it's because of people like him that good people and good children are forced to hide from their friends and family and from the public eye.

Not all werewolves are the same, the same way that not all muggles or wizards are the same. I knew a werewolf and he is one of the nicest men I ever knew and the only competent defence teacher I've had, not counting the death eater imposter.

The more observant of you would have noticed the past tense, I used that but not because the person is not dead but he is no longer a werewolf. Remus Lupin, a friend of mine, was the test subject of a potion invented by Severus Snape and myself. Ladies and gentlemen, we have discovered, actually discovered...a cure. We have found a cure!"

The hall burst into noise, disbelief, applause, questions and camera flashed were some of the things that could be hard. Nobody could believe the words that came from Harry Potters mouth, Harry knew that by tomorrow there would be a smiling ex-werewolf who would want nothing more than to give him a hug.

"It's true!" Harry shouted "It's honestly real! I swear on my magic and life, I along with Mr Snape and assistance from my house elves, have invented a cure. Soon I will arrange a meeting with Gringotts and the ministry to discuss funds and distribution of the cure.

Alright, I have to go now but I'd like to say a few quick things before I go. Don't be biased and prejudiced, please treat all living beings with kindness and respect unless they actually try and attack you and don't be afraid. Because pretty soon, the only death eaters will be dead death eaters. Goodnight everyone."

Harry bowed and flamed out, leaving behind a wild crowd and a dead body for the ministry to deal with. When he got home, Ginny was in bed, reading a book. When he came in, she tossed the book onto the night stand.

"Eventful night?" She asked, Harry allowed her to view what happened tonight, directly from his mind.

"So..." Harry sat next to her "Harry did good?"

"Yes, yes Harry did good" Ginny chuckled

"So...Harry gets a reward?" He asked hopefully

"Damn you and those bloody eyes, I can never say no to you." Ginny said in mock anger "What do you want for your reward?"

"You, a nice shower, a good night sleep and some tasty breakfast in the morning. In that order, please"

"Well…who am I to refuse?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and crashed her lips into his, and Harry received his rewards, one by one in the requested order, even the tasty breakfast.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37 –

Voldemort held a meeting in Malfoy Manor, he sat at the head of the table while a couple of death eaters sat with him. Mostly the ones he rescued from Azkaban, including Lucius Malfoy, who had agreed to allow him use of his house. Voldemort then awarded him with a crucio, and then he hit a different death eater with the same spell just for the fun of it.

The death eaters sat, all afraid to speak out of turn and some even afraid to look at him. In the back ground stood Wormtail, above him hovered Charity Burbage, the muggle studies teacher.

"Greetings, my friends" Voldemort said in a way that let the people there know that they were definitely not friends. "I'm sure that many of you are curious as to why I've brought you here, and I'm sure many of you are wondering why I've called you here. I've brought you here to discuss Potter." A silence fell, nobody was willing to speak, Voldemort continued.

"Potter has been attacking our forces, he has been killing off our members...yet, none of you have been able to stop him. A mere boy" Silence reigned over the death eaters, all of them to afraid and ashamed to realise that Voldemort was being a bit hypocritical at the moment.

"My lord" One brave member spoke up, just loud enough to be heard "we apologise, we are doing our best"

"Your best?" Voldemort scoffed "if this is your best then I dread to think how pathetic you idiots are when you are not putting in effort, now, Mr Potter is coming of age. However, this news does not matter as it appears that the underage magic rules, along with every single other rule, does not apply to him. Would any of you like to tell me why that is?" Nobody spoke, silence ringed throughout the manner

"What say you, Pius?" Voldemort asked the man opposite him.

Pius sat there, Nagini hissed in the background. Voldemort looked at the man in front of him, one of his death eaters had managed to place him under the imperious curse so Voldemort could use his ministry position to his advantage.

"One hears many things my lord, whether the truth is amongst them, is uncertain" Pius responded as Nagini hissed in the background

"Ha" Voldemort let out a small laugh "spoken like a true politician…" A sound was heard in the background "Lucius, what was that noise?"

"I apologise, my lord" Lucius bowed his head, barley able to look at Voldemort "it must have been one of the house elves, I will punish them once this meeting is adjourned"

"The house elves didn't do it because you don't have any house elves" An amused voice spoke, everyone turned to see where Pius was sitting. But saw that he wasn't there anymore. In his place was one Harry Potter, he was wearing his 'Curse' costume but didn't have the hood pulled up so everyone could see his face.

"You're wife took the house elves" Harry continued "she took them along with all your money,. So you Lucius, are worth preciously nothing at the moment"

The death eaters were about to stand and get their wands out, but Voldemort held up his hand to stop them. They all reluctantly sat down and glared at the boy.

"What are you doing in my house?!" Lucius demanded

"Careful Lucius" Harry warned "I took away your house elves, I've taken away your family who took your money. So in total I've taken your servants, your family, your money and if you speak to me with that attitude again then it will be your life." A cold chill filled the room, as Lucius's pale skin began matching his hair "A little advice for the long run, do not talk when your superiors are conversing."

"Well said" Voldemort spoke "pray tell, Mr Potter, how did you get in here and what did you do with Pius?"

"Pius has been sent back to the ministry, as for getting here, I used my feet"

"Ah, still as witty as ever. You are nothing, if not entertaining, Potter. I assume you have a reason for coming here"

"What? Can't I come and see you without an excuse?" Harry joked

"You could" Voldemort smiled "but not many people tend to do so, so I ask you again, what are you doing here?"

"I actually came to discuss a few things with you, and your little dogs while I'm at it" Harry replied, the death eaters bristled at the fact that they were called dogs "or should I say snakes? Yes, that seems more appropriate but with the way these pathetic mongrels follow you for scraps of power and get put down by me, I'd say my first description was more accurate. Now, the first thing I'd like to ask, is do any of you wish to leave Voldemorts services? I can guarantee you safety if you do"

A chorus of negative responses was all Harry heard, the people in front of him looked insulted at the very idea. Voldemort watched with amusement, while Harry just seemed bored.

"You no good half-blood!" One death eater screamed "how dare you show up and…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, the other death eaters stared at him and wondered why he had stopped. He sat perfectly skill, growing paler and paler until he lost motor control and his head hit the table. He drooled on the table, his eyes were blank and he had stopped moving and breathing.

"Wasn't me" Harry said when the death eaters looked at him "it was him" Harry gestured to Emerald, the snake who was climbing up the newly deceased body, he slithered along to the table and climbed up Harrys arm and rested on his shoulder. Harry hissed to the snake who hissed back, everyone soon realised that he was speaking parsletounge. Voldemort had managed to keep a calm face, barley, but internally he was screaming

"You're also a parsletounge" Voldemort spoke as Nagini climbed on to the table "I've never seen that type of snake before"

"Nah, you wouldn't" Harry smiled "the shop keeper I brought it from thought it was just another regular snake. But Emerald, that's the name of my snake, is a very rare magical snake that can copy any venom that other snakes have, including basilisk venom."

"Impressive" Voldemort admitted "but not as impressive as my Nagini" Voldemort stroked the large python

"Compensating for something?" Harry referenced the snakes large size

"I believe that you had other business you wanted to bring to me" Voldemort ignored his comment

"Yes, I would like her back by the end of the meeting" Harry tilted his head back slightly to show he was referring to Miss Burbage who was hovering behind him "the second is I'm going to kill you, all of you"

"Are you?" Voldemort chuckled

"Yes" Harry tossed Slytherin's locket at him, Tom caught it and realised what it was. He looked at Potter who smirked at him "I told you before, Tom, I will destroy them all" The death eaters looked back and forth between their master and Potter and were trying to work out what was going on.

"You arrogant child" Voldemort growled "you dare, to even believe, that you pose a threat to me?!"

"Believe what you want" Harry shrugged "I know the truth, so do you. Voldemort is nothing but a half-blood bastard son of a muggle and a squib"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort leaped to his feet and shot the curse at a frightening speed, Harry leaned back and kicked off from the table and the curse soared over his head as he did a little back flip and landed on his feet.

"You know" Harry slowly rose to his feet as all the death eaters and Voldemort aimed their wands at him "Dumbledore tried the same thing, with a different spell admittedly, but the same thing. I did the flip but then I slammed his face into the table, I would do that with you but I think your face is damaged enough"

"Enough games Potter"

"You're right Tom" Harry took a step back "this is all getting a little tense for me as it is clear that none of you are willing to have a civil conversation at this point. Now, I'm going to take the teacher and get out of here"

"How do you plan that?" One death eater asked the question that was on everybody else's mind

"Simple, have any of you ever heard of fiendfyre?" Harry internally laughed as the death eaters looked at him as if he was mad, in their defence fiendfyre was dangerous and uncontrollable.

Unfortunately they hadn't realised that they just simply didn't know the way to control it. Harry cast a bright light with his hand that blinded the death eaters, he ducked and rolled out of the way to dodge their blind blasts. Fire erupted from his wand as he ran towards the floating teacher, Wormtail had already ran away in fear. The death eaters got over the bright light in time to see the massive snake made of fire charging at them.

Most of them got away, but a few of them were swallowed by the flames. Two minutes later, Voldemort and the surviving followers, stood at a safe distance after getting out by portkey. Voldemort was cursing under his breath, he'd be idiotic to not admit that Potter was a problem. He just wouldn't admit it verbally, he decided in that moment that he might need to give Potter a surprise.

Meanwhile, in Hogwarts, everyone sat in the great hall for dinner. Dumbledore sat at the high table, alongside him were the teachers who had basically told him to go screw himself and to get help from somewhere else.

Suddenly the door opened, and the cause of Dumbledore's recent headaches walked in. Harry Potter walked in, donning his Curse outfit and a smile on his face that became visible after he pulled his hood down. He looked around, taking in each and every face in front of him. He held his arms out.

"I'm back bitches!" He shouted.

The hall burst into applause, nearly all of the hall started cheering and clapping. Even the new first years who had yet to know him clapped as they had heard a lot about him, at the moment the three individuals who were noticeably not clapping were Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione.

Harry took a few steps forward when his blood adopted sister, Daphne Greengrass, ran up and pulled him into a tight hug. Her smaller sister, Astoria, soon joined. Then came Neville, along with Seamus and Dean. Harry hugged them all back and quickly started moving before the entire hall decided to join in on the act.

Harry walked up to the high table, greeting various students as he did. He actually stopped halfway when a first year asked him for an autograph, he was a little embarrassed but gave it to her anyway. The girl squealed with joy as he walked away, he walked right past Ron and Hermione who were glaring at him and stopped at the table.

"Hello Professor Sprout" Harry greeted the Hufflepuff head of house first "how are you today?"

"Please, call me Pomona." She smiled "You're no longer a student here, you don't have to call any of us professor."

"Let's compromise and I'll call you all by your last names in public"

"Good enough" She replied "how are you today?"

"Great" Harry grinned "just got back from pissing off Voldemort"

"How did you do that?" Horace Slughorn asked, truthfully Harry didn't like nor dislike the man as he never sat in any of his classes, so Harry just decided to treat the man kindly unless he was given a reason not to.

"Simple, I interrupted a meeting he held in Malfoy manor and threatened him before I burnt the place down with fiendfyre." Slughorn's eyes widened at Harry's comment.

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke

"Flitwick" Harry approached the charms teacher and openly ignored the headmaster "how are you doing? I hope classes are good, how's your family?"

"Classes are going brilliantly!" The excitable man exclaimed "the first years are putting in a lot of effort, some are learning faster than others but that's always the case. But don't worry, you're still my favourite, thank you for asking. Oh, and as for family, my uncle passed away last month."

"Oh, I'm sorry, my condolences"

"It's quite alright" Flitwick waved a hand "I never knew him that well and he was quite old from what I was hearing, but one piece of good news is I have a cousin who is getting married next year. She just got engaged this week"

"Congratulations, you'll be an uncle soon."

"Harry" Dumbledore repeated "I want to…"

"Minnie!" Harry turned to McGonagall

"I did not remember permitting you to call me Minnie" She said as seriously as possible, but her lips twitched slightly.

"You didn't give my godfather permission but it didn't stop him, besides, we both know I'm your favourite"

"While that is true, please do not call me that"

"I won't" Harry nodded "not in public anyway" He added

"MR POTTER" Dumbledore shouted, he had finally lost his patience "what are you doing here?!"

"ALBUS WULFRIC PERCIVAL BRIAN DUMBLEDORE!" Harry shouted back in a perfect imitation of Molly Weasley, so perfect that he had actually copied her voice exactly "How dare you interrupt me when I am having a conversation with my friends?! I know you were raised to have better manners then that!" Ron hadn't even noticed the shiver that went down his body when he heard Potter imitate his mother.

"Oi!" He stood up "Don't make fun of my mum!"

"Would you prefer if I made fun of you?" Harry asked innocently "I really don't mind"

"Careful Potter, you don't scare me!" Ron pointed his wand at him, ignoring the slight trembling that came from his hand

"Keep talking" Harry said as he looked at Ron with an amused expression "if you keep doing that then maybe one day you will say something intelligent" Before Ron could fire off a shot, Hermione grabbed his arm and stopped him, she took away his wand.

"Ron, you know you can't beat him" She spoke before turning to Harry "and can you please not call him stupid"

"I wouldn't call him stupid, that'd be an insult...to stupid people."

"I am not stupid!" Ron shouted

"Ron, some people were dropped as babies but you were clearly thrown at a wall. If you were twice as smart as you were now then you would have upgraded from complete and utter moron to just moron"

"Harry! Stop insulting him!" Hermione ordered

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings when I called you stupid" Harry spoke softly, but still with a smile "I really thought you knew"

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke again

"Oh right" Harry sighed, before he turned to address the hall "I should let you all know, today I really did interrupt a meeting with Voldemort. When I was there I rescued the muggle studies teacher, Miss Burbage, I came here to let you know that she is safely in St Mungo's but I don't know how long she'll have to stay there."

"Awesome Harry" Neville clapped, so did Daphne, then Astoria joined in, then everyone else soon joined in. The hall took five minutes to die down from the clapping.

"Mr Potter" Dumbledore stood up "please accompany me to my office" Despite his words, Harry could tell Dumbledore just gave him an order.

"Why not?" Harry shrugged "I've got time to kill, go and gather your dogs and I'll meet you there."

Harry walked off, waving at the students as he did. Once he got to the headmasters office, Ginny mentally called and offered a short idea to annoy the three, or Hermione specifically. Naturally Harry agreed and she teleported to him using their soul bond. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione were walking up to the office with Dumbledore.

"Hold on" Hermione said as they reached the open gargoyle "how did he get in? I thought you changed the password"

"I did" Dumbledore replied "it seems that we have another thing to talk to Mr Potter about, come."

The three walked up to headmasters office, and once they entered they stopped in shock. Somehow Ginny had gotten into the headmasters office as well and they were both sitting on his desk and snogging.

"What the…" Ron blurted out, Harry and Ginny stopped snogging and looked at the stunned three.

"Oh hello" Ginny said politely "I hope you don't mind but I wanted to attend this meeting as well, I was a bit bored at home"

"How did you get here?!" Hermione screamed "How did you get into the office without the password?! And how did…"

"Magic" Harry and Ginny interrupted her at the same time, before putting on their best innocent face.

"Oh wait" Harry said as he prepared to implement their plan to annoy Hermione "I forgot to do something at home, I've left the bloody stove on" He apparated back home.

"Wait a sec" Ginny continued with the plan "no he hasn't, I turned it off, I'll go and tell him" She teleported to him, the two shared a quick kiss before Harry apparated back.

"Sorry about that" He apologised "Ginny said she has changed her mind and wants to stay home now because she can't be bothered to come back, she's a little tired after her try-outs." And now Harry mentally counted down for the inevitable explosion, five…four…three….two…one

"HOW DID SHE DO THAT?!" Hermione roared "YOU CAN'T APPARATE IN HOGWARTS! HOW DID THE TWO OF YOU DO THAT?! HOW?! TELL ME! NOW!" Harry mentally smirked, Dumbledore and Hermione were too surprised to not notice that Ginny didn't apparate but actually teleported

"Magic" Harry shrugged

"HARRY!"

"Careful Granger" Harry warned in a low voice "or I may just have to hurt you"

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke

"Ah yes" Harry looked at the headmaster "the grand old headmaster, what can I do for you?"

"Harry, why have you come to Hogwarts tonight?"

"Honestly? I came because I really just wanted to let you know that I rescued the muggle studies teacher, and I thought it'd be a good opportunity to see my friends and as an added bonus I have the chance to annoy you three clowns."

"You said to Professor Slughorn that you used fiendfyre?"

"Yes I did" Harry said proudly "I did it during my escape, Malfoy manor is now Malfoy ashes. I think I killed a few death eaters when I did it, so...bonus"

"Harry, that is a dark spell!" Hermione shrieked

"You know that I've used all the unforgivables?" Harry asked "all three of them. So if that doesn't clue you in on how little I care then nothing will. Besides, what's wrong with fighting fire with fire? Ignore the pun"

"Harry, we can't lower ourselves to their level!" Dumbledore replied

"Can't we?" Harry asked "they might be low in collective opinions but before I came along they were higher than you lot in the food chain. If you had wasted less time trying to control me and spent more time trying to stop them then you could have gotten rid of at least a third of their numbers but you didn't."

"Harry! What must I do to convince you to listen to me?!" Dumbledore said desperately

"Promising to stay out of my way would be nice"

"Harry, I have lost count of the amount of times I have told you to stop what you are doing"

"Likewise, it is getting a bit old sir. Like you, except our talk doesn't have half as much wrinkles"

"Harry, stop talking back to the headmaster" Hermione interrupted

"Granger, stop being annoying" Harry responded

"Hey, you can't talk to her like that" Ron spoke

"Defending your girlfriend?" Harry raised an eyebrow

"She's not my girlfriend£

"Shame, if she doesn't want to be your girlfriend then I guess that you're destined to be single all your life."

"What does that mean, Potter?" Ron spat his name out

"What it means, Ronald" Harry replied "is that no girl would willingly go out with a prat like yourself, unless they were blind. And hadn't had it in years, and they would probably be an illegal immigrant who needs help to stay in the country"

"Please, I'm way more likely to get a girl then you"

"Are you always an idiot or is it just when I'm around?" Harry sighed "In case you haven't noticed I've not been single since second year and I spent a lot of time rejecting other girls, I'm also married to your sister, it's a shame that I have to be related to you because of it but at least you've done us a favour by keeping all the bad family genes to yourself so Ginny stays perfect."

"Enough of this" Dumbledore interrupted "Harry, it is time for you to make a decision, are you a member of the light side or the dark side?"

"Neither" Harry immediately replied "I have problems with both sides, that's why I'm in the middle. The grey side, I don't work for you Dumbledore and I don't work for Voldemort. I'm going to kill Voldemort and all of his friends, then I don't know what I'm going to do. I might play quidditch, I might join the aurors, I might stay home or depending on how much you piss me off, I might ruin you"

"Is that a threat?!" Dumbledore shouted

"It is what it is" Harry said "and it is a matter of perspective. It could be a threat or it could be a promise or it could be meaningless twaddle, it could be a warning or it could be me trying to irritate you. Like I said, it is what it is, what do you think it is?"

"Harry..."

"Don't answer that, it was a rhetorical question. Now, unless you dumbasses would like something else then I will leave and go home and probably think about the word twaddle"

"I'm sorry Harry, but we must stop you" Dumbledore and the duo pulled out their wands

"Why is that?" Harry said, unfazed "I'm stopping Voldemort, I'm ruining his plans and I'm cutting down the number of death eaters. I'm not breaking any ministry rules, well I am but they're not charging me, so the only thing I'm breaking other than death eaters are just your personal rules and code that I never agreed to follow. All you ever say is 'that is not the way' or 'you're going dark', how about a real answer, why? Why are you stopping me from stopping them?"

"It's obvious why, you're a dark wizard" Ron responded "I bet once Voldemort is gone then you'll be the next dark lord"

"Tempting" Harry replied "but I have better things to do than be a dark lord"

"Like what?"

"Shagging your sister comes to mind"

"Stupefy!" Ron roared, the blast flew to Potter who just dodged it, he flicked his wrist out and his wand came into his hand.

"Careful Ron, otherwise I'll hurt you so bad that Voldemort will come and ask me for torture tips" Harry threatened

"Harry, you will stop this nonsense" Dumbledore commanded

"What do you plan to do if I refuse?" Harry asked

"I will stop you" Dumbledore said as if it was obvious

"Let's say that you and the idiot one and two somehow manage to knock me out, what do you plan to do then?" Harry questioned Dumbledore who looked like he didn't really understand what Harry meant so Harry continued "the ministry can't and won't charge me on anything. The people all love me, not counting the death eaters and all, so they won't do anything to me. The order has quit because they couldn't stand to stay under your leadership so you can't even hold me anywhere apart from this school. And if I could escape Malfoy manor unharmed then what do you think I could do on familiar territory?"

"We will stop you" Hermione said with a determined expression

"You'll attempt to is a more accurate statement" Harry smirked "you'll fail is even more accurate"

"Last chance Harry" Dumbledore and the duo prepared to fire

"Last chance Dumbledore, move out of the way or get run over" Harry replied

Dumbledore shot off a silent stunner, at Harry who calmly swatted it away. Hermione attempted to disarm him but he dodged, then Dumbledore and Ron both shot off stunners. Harry jumped out of the way before he jabbed his wand in the air. A high pitch shriek pierced the air, causing the trio to cover their ears.

"Bombarda Maxima!" Harry aimed his wand at the window and blasted the entire wall away, he rolled towards it to dodge the spells that were shot at him. "You're all persistent, aren't you?"

"Step away from the edge" Dumbledore ordered as Harry was now standing right by the edge and one misstep could result in him falling to his doom.

"Make me" Harry defiantly responded.

The three shot some spells again, but Harry ducked before firing a three spells of his own. The first two spells hit the head boy and girl badges on Ron and Hermione's robes, causing the badges to become bigger until they were the size of a small child. The result was the two fell to the floor, Dumbledore dodged Harry's spell and quickly shot a body bind curse at Harry who had barely managed to get a shield up in time.

Harry shot a binding curse of his own which Dumbledore dodged, Harry then conjured some birds which he sent to attack Dumbledore. As Dumbledore was banishing the birds, Harry hit Ron and Hermione with a spell, once Dumbledore had banished the birds he had aimed his wand at Harry.

Harry jumped off the edge and out of the hole where the wall with the window used to be, Dumbledore ran over and looked over the edge. All he saw was a small black bird flying away. He turned and took pity on his students, he turned their badges back to normal size so the two could stand up.

"Thank you professor" Ron said "I'm sorry he got away"

"Yes, as am I" Dumbledore nodded sadly "but...wait, he hit the two of you with spells. What were they?"

"I'm not sure" Ron admitted "Hermione, what about...oh my god!"

Ron exclaimed after he saw Hermione's top front teeth, which had grown so they were now at her chin. Hermione had just realised what had happened and rushed out of the door and to the hospital wing.

"That answers one half of my question" Dumbledore said "what about you Ronald?"

"I'm not sure sir" Ron scratched his head "I don't feel any different and I..."

Ron was cut off by the sound off a very loud fart, one that originated from him. He was about to apologise when he let out another, his stomach growled. His hand quickly clutched his stomach, he bent over slightly.

"Ah" Dumbledore spoke as realisation set into his face "I believe I know what you were struck with"

"What is it?!" Ron asked, clearly alarmed

"It's my belief that you were hit with a curse designed to give you explosive diarrhoea, it should last at least an entire week and possibly two"

"WHAT?!"

"Yes, now would you please get out of my office. I believe that the only reason the smell hasn't become a problem is due to the massive hole that I must fix and I'd like you to leave before I have to clean away your remains from my floor"

Ron ran out, clutching his stomach as he did and by his awkward running, Dumbledore assumed that the curse was very effective. He repaired the wall when he realised that the smell had latched to his room, he placed some air freshening spells around the room before he returned to the great hall. He was still hungry after all and that smell wasn't going anytime soon.

He entered through the teachers entrance and sat at the great hall, he took a sip from his goblet when he saw Slytherin's table and the juice spat out from his mouth. At the Slytherin's table, Harry was standing and talking to the Greengrass sisters, the Slytherin's and a few others who had joined in from other houses.

"Anyway" Harry spoke "then I enlarged their badges, and the two fell to the ground because of their weight. Although, now I'm left wondering how drunk the person in charge, who was clearly Dumbledore, had to be to name those two idiots head boy and girl"

"Aren't we all?" Daphne commented

"True" Harry nodded "so then Dumbledore fires another spell which I dodge, then I conjured some birds to distract him. Then I hit Granger and Weasley with a spell, I hit Granger with a spell that will enlarge her teeth because it reminds me of the one time I pranked her when she kept trying to get into my godfathers library. And I hit Weasley with an explosive diarrhoea curse, it'll last at least a week or maybe even two weeks"

"You what?!" Astoria giggled as the rest of them laughed "Nice one Harry, saves us from having to see him eat like a pig at the table."

"You're welcome" Harry mock bowed before continuing "then I jump out of the hole I made and transformed into an eagle before I got here."

"You're an animagus?" Neville asked "An eagle one as well?"

"I actually have multiple forms, one of them is an eagle but I also have an owl form amongst others" Harry replied

"Not surprising" Daphne sighed "to be fair, that's probably nothing considering you do impossible things daily"

"I was thinking of getting a t-shirt that says that" Harry joked

"Mr Potter!" Albus shouted from the head table

"Dumbles!" Harry shouted back cheerily "how are you doing? I was just telling my friends how you tried to attack me in your office."

"WHAT?!" Minerva McGonagall stood up and glared at the man

"It's true, he attacked me!" Harry announced to the whole crowd

"Albus, what do you have to say for yourself?" McGonagall demanded, Albus at that moment felt like a first year under the furious eyes of the deputy.

"I admit...that it wasn't one of my better ideas" Albus spoke softly

"Better ideas?! Albus you attacked Mr Potter! In a school no less, and your only response is 'not one of your better ideas'?!"

"Yeah Albus" Harry spoke up "I'm a guest who just saved one of your teachers and all you did is try and order me around, shout at me and attempt to subdue me even when the ministry can't and won't arrest me. What were you exactly planning to do if you had captured me? Lock me up? Hide me away? Force me to be your prisoner?"

Dumbledore was about to come up with an answer when he realised that there was no acceptable answer. Claiming that he would have locked Potter up somewhere would get him in trouble but claiming he wasn't going to do anything would make him look like an idiot who just attacked Potter for no reason and neither were good for him. He cursed himself for losing control, he was usually much more smarter and calm than this but he chalked up his actions due to the fact that Potter had been constantly getting under his skin.

"That's what I thought" Harry said after a few seconds of silence "now while you try to come up with a valid excuse for what you have done, I will be off, I'm going to go home and rest. After all, death eaters don't kill themselves unless you put them under the imperious curse, and I have a quite a few left to kill and I can't do that without my beauty sleep. Good day to you, by which I mean I'm leaving you arrogant old sloth. See ya Dumblesloth"

Harry walked out of the hallway, leaving a seething Dumbledore who decided to leave the hall. The next day, Dumbledore received two letter in his office, one from a snowy owl and one from a ministry owl, he opened the first one.

 **Dear Dumblesloth**

 **In case you have forgotten, yesterday the nerd and idiot assisted you in attacking me, the Lord of a most ancient and noble house. Now, I'm no legal expert but apparently, that's illegal. Big shocker, I know but apparently what you did was illegal and apparently I'm allowed to take you to court over what you did.**

 **I was going to weigh up the pros and cons of doing so but then I realised that doing this would aggravate you immensely, so needless to say, I'm taking you to court. Remember the first time I took you to court, I cost you nearly everything, I wonder what I'll get from you this time. Maybe some more money, maybe you'll be forced to retire as headmaster, maybe you have to do something for me to make up for what you've done or maybe something else entirely.**

 **All I do know is that you're going to lose more of what little respect you have left, such a shame that the great Albus Dumbledore is now seen as an old, crazy man or is going to be once I'm finished with you. Even more of a shame is the fact that you ARE an old, crazy man. Now, remember to bring your best robes and remember to comb your hair, we don't want you looking more ridiculous than you already do. I will see you in court, hope you have fun, good bye Dumbles.**

 **With no love**

 **Harry Potter**

After finishing that letter, Dumbledore quickly opened the next letter and saw that it was a summons to court. Dumbledore's anger burst and five minutes later he was walking out of a burnt and damaged office.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38 – Temporary teacher, Stubborn headmaster and shocking giant.

Dumbledore was in a horrible mood, he was absolutely furious and tired. He had just returned from court, with a heavy amount of negotiation and the last of Dumbledore's political resources, he along with Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger had barely managed to avoid Azkaban. And Harry Potter was smiling smugly at him the entire time as well.

To make matters worse, before he had left for court he was sent a letter from the board of governors. The current defence teacher, an auror from the ministry had decided to return to helping the ministry, and the board had sent a replacement without consulting him. Hopefully Dumbledore could control the replacement, and if he or she was useful then Dumbledore could try and get them to help him. But he had to be careful, the court and board have put him on probation and the slightest acting out could result in him being fired.

It was at that point when he returned to the great hall, he arrived just at dinner with Granger and Weasley right behind him. When he entered, he saw the entire student population, except a select few, looking extremely pleased and delighted. He looked to the staff table, and did a double take. Sitting at the table, and talking to Professor McGonagall, was Harry Potter. He sat there wearing muggle clothes, he wore white trainers along with blue jeans, a white shirt and a black leather jacket.

"What are you doing here?!" Ron shouted at the sight of Potter, the hall went quiet and everyone looked on with attentive eyes and ears.

"I'm sitting Mr Weasley" Harry calmly replied, before he sipped some juice from his goblet "you see, sitting is when you bend your legs and..."

"I know what sitting is!"

"Wow" Harry said loudly with mock surprise in his voice "and here I thought that you're proudest achievement was the ability to put your clothes on by yourself. You really have gotten smarter since I last saw you"

"Harry" Hermione took over "why are you in Hogwarts and why are you sitting at the head table? That table is only for teachers"

"I'm in Hogwarts because I want to be" Harry answered "also I'm allowed to sit here, since I work here. I am your new defence teacher"

"What?" Dumbledore breathed

"That's right" Harry smirked "I work here now, or at least until they find a replacement, which they'll do in about a week. You see the board was looking for a temporary teacher and I volunteered. Once I'm done here, I will get back to hunting death eaters."

Dumbledore turned a ghostly white and quickly left the hall, he couldn't do anything, especially in front of witnesses. And if he had stayed there any longer, he would have done something drastic. Unfortunately Hermione and Ron didn't have the same idea.

"How could you be a defence teacher? I'm older than you" Hermione argued

"Simple, I'm better" Harry shrugged

"Yeah right" Ron scoffed "what's so good about you?" Everyone in the hall looked at Ron as if he had grown a second head

"It may have escaped your memory" Harry replied in an amused voice "probably because your brain lacks the power to stop it from escaping, but let's ignore that for a second. I am the-boy-who-lived, youngest tri-wizard champion ever, was top of my class and year every year when I attended school, I have beaten Albus Dumbledore with a plate, I've broke examination records with my owls and newts, I've beaten Voldemort multiple times and I hunt death eaters as a hobby. Yet you're questioning my qualifications on a subject that I broke records in in exams and is essential in doing what I do?

I would like to call you stupid but that would be stating the obvious at this point and a waste of time. Instead, I will call you incredibly stupid."

"Don't insult him!" Hermione shouted

"Defending your boyfriend?" Harry asked

"Stop insulting us" Hermione ignored his question "you can't insult him or me. I'm a genius"

"Wow" Harry laughed "for you to be a genius tells me one of three things, the first is your lying while the second is the standards for the word have been set incredibly low, the third is your delusional and that's the one I'm leaning on."

"Harry" Astoria raised her hand

"Yes Mrs Greengrass"

"Where's Ginny?"

"Oh! Great news!" Harry shouted excitedly "Sadly I can't tell you yet but look at a copy of the prophet tomorrow and you'll see. How are classes going by the way?"

"Good, but I suspect they'll be great now that you're teaching"

"You always were such a charmer Tori"

"Would you stop ignoring me?!" Hermione shouted

"Ten points from Gryffindor for disturbing students"

"You can't do that! That's unfair!" Hermione objected

"Yes I can" Harry chuckled "I'm a teacher and shouting at a teacher in the great hall is great grounds for punishment, actually, have a detention with Filch while you're at it."

"Hey" Ron shouted

"The same to you" Harry interrupted before he could say anything "as for it being unfair, life is unfair, get over it. You could complain to Dumbledore but he didn't do anything back when Snape was being unfair so it'd be mighty hypocritical for him to do it now and if he does then I will tell the board about him having double standards. Now, sit down and eat quietly or leave the hall"

The pair glared at him before turning on their heels and storming out, the students cheered as the two left and clapped for their new teacher. Even the teachers clapped a little. Harry thanked everyone and a few minutes later everyone resumed their lunch.

"Forgive me for asking" McGonagall whispered "but why did you decide to work here?"

"A few reasons" Harry whispered back "firstly, I missed everyone. Despite Dumbledore and his dumb duo, I really loved this place. It was my first home, a lot of my family is here but I also get to help the students prepare and learn how to defend themselves. While I'm only here temporarily, it gives me a chance to help them learn a few things. I also needed a bit of experience, I've never really had a job, not a paying one at least.

Besides, in the future I could come back here if I enjoy teaching, hopefully Dumbledore and Voldemort would have been gone by that time."

"I must say, I'm looking forward to working with you. You were always my favourite student, what of Mrs Potter? Where is she?"

"I imagine at home about now" Harry smiled "probably resting. She had recently required a new job, and I promised her I wouldn't tell anybody about it until the news was released in the daily prophet. Needless to say, I believe you will be quite surprised, as will many here."

The two kept talking, soon the other teachers started to join in the conversation. They all began chatting happily, meanwhile the student population were chatting. Some were reminiscing about the days when Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, now Potter, ruled over the school. Others were stunned at seeing the legendary vigilante Curse and boy-who-lived sitting as the new teacher. Some even realised that the older students knew him, and vowed to ask questions.

Meanwhile, Albus Dumbledore had just entered the hogshead bar, and took a seat. Fortunately the bar was empty, nobody was there, except the barmen. In front of him was Aberforth Dumbledore. Dumbledore's little brother.

"Good evening, Aberforth" Dumbledore greeted

"What happened to you?" Aberforth asked "you look like hell!"

"I've been having troubles with Mr Potter" Albus spat

"Oh" Aberforth said curiously "pray tell, what has Lord Potter done?"

"What hasn't he done?" Dumbledore sighed "I spent years, trying to mould him into the perfect warrior of the light. But instead, he chooses to disobey my every command and has cost me my reputation and fortune. Not to mention he keeps going out as the vigilante known as Curse"

"What's wrong with him being Curse?"

"What's wrong?!" Albus looked at his brother with disbelief "he's a murderer! A cold blooded killer! I've seen pensive memories his victims have left behind, he always leaves one person behind just long enough for the aurors to arrive but they die within minutes after they do. Sometimes he is quick and efficient but other times he plays with his victims like they were toys. Taking delight in slowly killing them, I've seen the memory of one particular incident involving a death eater he had a personal problem against, I trust you heard about him leaving a dead body in the great hall. The body belonged to a man called Warius.

Harry had attacked him and many other death eaters in a bar, he killed them all quickly and efficiently. Apart from Warius and one other, he hit the other death eater with a timed curse that activated about five minutes after his capture and soon his body had become unidentifiable"

"Really?" Aberforth raised an eyebrow

"Yes" Albus nodded "the only one left was Warius, Harry tortured him without a drop of mercy, he struck him with cutting curses and a reducto curse and even shot a metal spike at him. He fired some red spell into Warius's leg before he shoved his wand into the open wound left behind. Then, he used the cruciatus curse from inside Warius's own leg. But he didn't stop, when Warius passed out from pain, Harry revived him and did the same thing a few more times before he finally ended it." Albus sat in silence.

"Why?" Aberforth asked after a short silence

"Why? Why what?"

"Why Warius?" Aberforth expanded "All those death eaters there, so why was he focusing on Warius?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Just answer the question

"I'm not entirely sure about the details" Albus sighed "but I believe that Warius had attacked the former Miss Greengrass"

"Greengrass? As in Daphne Greengrass? I read in the papers that she became a member of the Potter family due to a blood ritual"

"The very same, she is now Daphne Potter. From what I've heard, the two had developed a sibling relationship before the attack."

"When you say Warius attacked her...attacked her how?"

"I'm not sure but he may have raped her"

"Well" Aberforth smiled "good on Potter"

"What?!" Dumbledore jumped in surprise "What do you mean?"

"Albus, look at it from Potters view. The man raped someone he considered family, I don't exactly blame him for what he did. I would've done the same if someone had tried that with our sister" Another awkward silence fell upon the two, after mentally agreeing to avoid that particular topic the two continued talking.

"Aberforth, no matter how right he may have felt, what he did was wrong. Yes, Warius did horrible things, evil things but he was killed as if he was nothing. Potter hadn't even given him a chance at redemption"

"I wish you could hear yourself" Aberforth shook his head "despite all the brain that you think you have, you're still an idiot. Albus, these people don't deserve second chances. Severus, yes he might have, so did those few death eaters that took the dark mark remover. But a lot of them probably did it out of fear of Potter and Severus was the exception, not the rule.

Take Bellatrix Lestrange for example, she kills and tortures for fun and openly admits to supporting Voldemort. She shows no remorse and you still think that she could be redeemed?"

"Aberforth" Dumbledore sighed "to kill makes us no better than those we are trying to stop"

"Bull" Aberforth spat "kill a death eater to save a family, that's what Potter is doing Albus. These people are unredeemable, no matter what you might think. I don't know who died and placed you as master of the universe but for the love of magic, please stop. Potter may be going against whatever grand plan you have but he is effective, soon there won't be any death eaters left and we can all return to peace. I don't know what Potter will do after they're gone, maybe he will join the ministry. Maybe he'll become an assassin, or maybe he'll go into hiding.

But he doesn't seem to be the type who would become the next dark lord. Stop it Albus, stop it before it's too late"

"I cannot do that" Albus stood up "I'm sorry we have to disagree but I will not stop. Both Harry and Tom are dangers and I have to be the one to deal with them."

"Bloody magical hangover cures!" Aberforth exclaimed "Fine, do what you want Albus. You always did, thinking you know best. I will attend your funeral, I'll attend it without the slightest bit of guilt because I know I tried to stop you. I'm not going to bother trying to convince you, we both know you're too stubborn to listen. The whole world could tell you that you're wrong and you wouldn't listen, goodbye brother."

Aberforth stormed off, Dumbledore sighed before he also walked off. He had decided to get some sleep, the next day he would visit one more person.

The next day, Harry entered the great hall at breakfast. He took his seat and ate breakfast while talking with some of the professors, not many students were present. Harry finished his breakfast, he took his goblet with him and was taking sips from it as he walked away.

"Sir" A voice called out, Harry turned to see two first year boys at the Gryffindor table waving at him. One spiky black hair and the other with short sandy hair. They waved him to come over, and Harry obliged.

"What can I do for you, gentlemen?" Harry asked

"My name is John Smith and that's Leo Harrison" The black haired boy introduced himself "We're both muggleborns, we asked some people about you yesterday and this guy called Neville said he was your mate, is that true?"

"Neville Longbottom?" Harry asked, the boys nodded "yeah, he was one of my friends when I came here. Great guy, if you need help win Herbology then you should ask him."

"We read the news today" Leo spoke "is your wife really playing for the harpies?"

"Yeah, she always loved quidditch. She was always good at it as well, well, clearly she's good as she's on the team but you know what I mean. Look, I have to go and prepare for lessons now. If you want to ask more questions I can make sometime for you after class or at the end of the day, how about that?"

"Cool" Leo said

"Brill" Harry smiled "oh, by the way, nice job."

"Nice job on what?" John asked

"Your prank" Harry clarified, and both boys paled slightly

"Don't know what you mean" John said innocently

"I mean how you distracted me and got your mate to discreetly slip something into my cup" Harry grinned "ok, what's in my drink? Answer honestly and you won't get in trouble."

"It's a farting pill" Leo lowered his head "we got them from that shop in Diagon alley"

"The prank shop? The one run by a pair of red headed twins?" Harry asked

"Yes" John confirmed "do you know them?"

"Yeah, me and them used to pull off tons of pranks when we were back at Hogwarts."

"Really?!"

"Yeah" Harry nodded "let me tell you a bit of history. My dad and his group of friends were the top pranksters when they were at school, they were called the marauders. They were brilliant at pranks, but they were also pretty smart.

By the time I came to Hogwarts, the twins were already known pranksters. I was pretty good so me and the twins worked together to prank nearly everyone. I've lost count of the amount of times we've pranked the entire school. They pranked everyone openly, me and wife did just as many pranks but we did it in a way that nobody could prove it was us and assumed that the twins did it."

"That's awesome" Leo breathed, at that moment Albus Dumbledore walked in and walked over to his seat. He sat and began eating.

"I know, now I don't want to get late but before I go I'll give you a good piece of advice. The best pranks are the ones that nobody can prove you did. Watch this"

Harry sat next to them and directed their gaze at Dumbledore, when Dumbledore was distracted by a nearby conversation. Harry stood up and grinned evilly.

"Well, my work here is done."

"But you didn't do anything" John pointed out

"No" Harry shook his head "I didn't do anything you could see or prove, just like how I advised you to prank in the future."

"What did you do?" Leo asked

"I used a switching spell to swap my goblet with the headmasters, congratulations boys, you just helped me prank the headmaster"

Harry walked off, smirking as he did, leaving two stunned first years. However they were quickly brought out of their thought by the echo of a fart that originated from the head table.

"Albus Dumbledore!" McGonagall shouted with disgust

"It wasn't my fault!" Dumbledore insisted

"Not your fault?" McGonagall repeated "Don't give me that rubbish!"

"Really, I…" He was cut off by another fart

"Oh Merlin!" Sprout exclaimed as the smell finally reached her nose.

"I got this" Flitwick said as he shot various spells to get rid of the smell "There we go, now Albus, for the love of purified air, please leave"

Albus growled under his breath, but reluctantly stood up and went to his office. Leaving tons of gas behind him as he did, he cursed knowing exactly who did this and cursed louder knowing he had no proof.

Soon Harry had begun teaching, he taught before as the leader of the DA, so he was confident it wouldn't be too much of a challenge. First he had the first years, they all stared at him as if he was the heir of Merlin. He was but he wasn't going to tell them that, at the end of the first lesson the students walked out and couldn't stop talking about how great Harry was. The rest of the classes were like that, now Harry had to teach the current seventh years. The year he would be in, if he was still at school.

"Alright guys" Harry said as everyone sat down, Neville sat at the front besides Daphne and the pair gave him an encouraging smile.

Ron looked grumpy, he had wanted to sit as back as possible but Hermione sat at the front and he didn't want to be stuck with the Slytherin's. So he sat with her, Hermione had sat at the front because she wanted to know how Harry would teach and was prepared to go to Dumbledore the second she had a good reason to do so.

"Now" Harry continued "for those of you who don't know who I am, all I have to say is why? I am Harry Potter and I will teach you lot defence, for this week at least. Now, I have always preferred practical learning over theoretical learning. How about you guys, who prefers theory?" Hermione immidietley raised her hand, everyone else thought about it. Even those who usually preferred theory, didn't have the same thoughts when it came to magic. Nobody else raised their hand.

"What about practical?" Harry asked and nearly every hand went up, apart from Ron's of course. "Brilliant, well put those books away and follow me"

Soon they did, the class followed Harry out and to another classroom where a duelling platform was set up. Harry jumped on top of the platform and turned to address the crowd.

"Now, today we're going to have mock duels. The rules are simple, no unforgivables, obviously. No harmful curses that can do permeant damage, and at the of the duel me or my assistant will give you advice on how to improve." Hermione raised her hand

"Yes?" Harry nodded

"You're assistant?" She asked "Who is your assistant?"

"Didn't I say?" Harry said in mock surprise "I'm talking about her" Harry gestured to Ginny who just walked onto the platform and stood side by side with Harry.

"Ginny?!" Ron blurted out "What are you doing here?!"

"My husband invited me to help out, and see my friends" Ginny answered "really thoughtful of him, seeing as I don't have much free time to talk with them because I'm playing for the harpies"

It had become common knowledge by now that Ginny played for the Holyhead harpies, this annoyed Ron for multiple reasons. The first being she didn't join the cannons, the second being she was younger than him, the third was the fact that it meant that she was better at quidditch than him and the fourth was the fact that it meant Ginny had already showed him up and was more special than him. And Ginny knew that.

"By the way Daphne" Ginny continued "I've got you and Astoria some tickets to the next game"

"Awesome!" Daphne shouted

"Yes, yes, you can talk later" Harry interjected "now let's get on with it"

Soon the duels started, first Ron was paired up with Neville. Neville stood calmly, with his wand ready, Ron stood as arrogant and confident as possible. Harry saw Neville's stance and smiled, he saw Ron's stance and cringed. Ron's entire attitude when it came to duelling made Harry angry, it was as if Ron had personally insulted him. He was going to do something, but decided not to deprive Neville of the opportunity.

"Ok" Harry called out "three, two, one...go!"

Ron pulled his wand back and prepared to fire off a spell, but Neville was quicker and fired off a stunner. Ron instantly crumpled and fell to the floor.

"Neville wins" Harry said before he revived Ron "well done Neville, good stance and brilliant speed. A good amount of power as well, remember to keep practising."

"Thanks Professor" Neville blushed under the praise

"Come on Mr Weasley, off the platform"

"What? No way, I wasn't ready!"

"Yes you were" Harry responded "you were both given a good amount of time to prepare, Neville took up a duelling stance, a pretty good one, and prepared to fire. You stood with your feet wide and facing forwards, that left you more open to being hit. You should've copied Neville and stood sideways so to reduce your target area."

"He took me off guard! I didn't know we were supposed to start!" Ron argued

"The countdown didn't clue you in?" Harry raised an eyebrow

"I wasn't paying attention! I could beat anybody here if I was ready!"

"In a real fight, your enemies won't wait for you to be ready. But, being the nice soul I am, I'll give you another chance. If you can beat Ginny, then I'll let you advance to the next round."

"Fine" Ron stood up, this time he actually did take up a stance. It was a horrible copy of Neville's but it was better than before. Ginny stood opposite him and also took up her stance.

"Ron" Harry said "this time, you can fire the first spell. The duel will start whenever you're ready"

Ron looked at his sister, if he couldn't beat her in quidditch then he would at least beat her in duelling. After all, he was a boy and she was a girl, no way would she win. Dumbledore himself, taught him so he could help in the order.

"Stupefy!" Ron bellowed and a beam shot at Ginny. Ginny was unfazed and non-verbally put up a shield to stop the stunner, she then quickly fired off a bat bogey hex followed by an Expelliarmus and a body bind. The result was Ron lying perfectly still on the floor while his own bogeys attacked his face.

"Ginny wins" Harry said as he stopped the spells, not because he wanted to do so but more because they had to get on with the lesson. But he and Ginny were definitely watching this again in their pensive. "Better this time Mr Weasley, but you were still overconfident. Every fight you must treat each and every opponent as if they were Voldemort himself, never underestimate anyone. Now off the platform, other people have to duel as well." Ron grumbled and stormed off the platform and out of the classroom.

"The next time you see him can someone please tell him that he has lost Gryffindor twenty points and has detention with Filch tonight."

The duels continued, Parvati beat Lavender, Seamus barley beat Dean, Nott just about beat Blaise. Each and every one received advice on how to improve from Harry and Ginny. Soon it was time for Daphne to battle Hermione.

"Okay, ready?" Harry asked Daphne, who nodded in confirmation "Ready?" He asked Hermione who did the same. "Okay, I want you to start in three, two, one!"

Hermione immediately fired a stunner, Daphne put up a shield. Hermione then fired a disarming curse which Daphne dodged, Daphne fired a leg locker curse which Hermione quickly countered. Harry had to admit that Hermione had at least a small amount of skill, she'd be destroyed in a real fight but she would probably last at least a few seconds longer than Weasley.

The duel continued for several minutes, Hermione kept trying as many spells as she could but they weren't working. Daphne always blocked or dodged or ducked the spells, it was clear that Daphne wasn't trying and that infuriated Hermione. Hermione was getting quite tired, as evident by the sweat pouring from her face.

Hermione shot a curse at Daphne that was designed to make your vision blurry, Daphne blocked it before aiming a reducto at Hermione's feet as she remembered Harry telling her that's what he did when he fought Voldemort. The ground below exploded and Hermione flew back and landed on her back, her wand flew out of her hand and she was hit by a body bind.

"The winner is Daphne". Harry announced as he freed Hermione "Now Daphne, well done and keep practising, your shields are brilliant"

"Of course they are" Daphne said, as if it was ridiculous to expect anything less.

"Hermione" Harry ignored her comment "I have to admit, that wasn't that bad but you definitely need to practise more. Your first problem is your stamina, I'd recommend physical exercise"

"Physical exercise?!" Hermione blurted out in surprise

"Yes, knowledge can only take you so far" Harry replied "and let's talk about your knowledge, it's clear that you know a lot of spells and that's good but at the moment it's slowing you down"

"What do you mean?!"

"When you're duelling, you're wasting time wondering what spells you can do. A simple spell that you've practised ten times is way better than a fancy spell that you've practised once. Those spells are good in a duel, if you can improve on them but in a real fight they won't be using any advanced spells, they'll be using cutting curses and bone breakers and the unforgivables.

Power is great but so is speed, you have to be quick and efficient. The same goes for you Daphne, finish your opponent off as fast as you can. Even if you think you're winning, don't get confident, they could turn the tables on you at any time"

"Yes, sorry Professor" Daphne smiled sheepishly before walking off. Harry extended his hand to help Hermione up but she ignored it and stood up before walking off the platform and re-joining her classmates. Ginny saw that and looked absolutely pissed, Harry didn't need a mental connection to tell she wanted to hex Hermione.

Soon the duels continued, and the final round consisted of Neville and Daphne. It was a gruelling duel, both were rapidly firing spells. Neither were giving an inch, everyone couldn't help but look impressed. It lasted a whole ten minutes, that was when Daphne had an idea.

She blasted a jet of water at Neville which Neville shielded against, when the water dropped to the floor she fired a freezing spell and the water turned into ice and Neville's feet were frozen in place. A disarming curse later and she had won.

"Well done!" Harry and Ginny clapped "Brilliant Daphne, well done, I'm so proud of you. Well done all of you, you all have room to improve but today was bloody fantastic. Forty points to Gryffindor for our runner up Neville and fifty points to our winner, Daphne Potter!"

The crowd clapped and cheered for the blushing Slytherin, who waved and she got off. The lesson then ended but many stayed back to talk with Harry and Ginny.

Meanwhile Dumbledore was sat opposite an old friend of his, he sat opposite Gellert Grindelwald. Dumbledore didn't visit his old friend very much, but he occasionally talked to him when he needed help.

"So...what can I do for you Albus?" Gellert asked "I doubt this is a social visit"

"As sharp as ever" Dumbledore sighed before rubbing his eyes

"Must be big if it can make you look like that" Grindelwald commented "you run out of lemon drops or something?"

"My problems are due to Mr Potter" Dumbledore explained

"Ah, Mr Potter" Gellert smiled "of course they do, you know one thing I like about this place, is the fact that I can still read the news here."

"So I take it you know all about his 'hobby'?"

"If you mean hunting death eaters then yes" Grindelwald nodded "I remember when you first came to talk to me about Mr Potter, years and years ago, you told me about how you thought he could become a perfect warrior of the light. I remember laughing on your face and telling you not to get your hopes up, once again, I was right."

"I don't know what to do" Albus admitted

"There's not much you can do" Grindelwald replied "I told you, you shouldn't have tried to make Potter something he wasn't. Perhaps if you left things to proceed naturally then everything would be fine but you interfered one too many times."

"But there must be a way! I need a way to bring Harry back in to the light!"

"The light?" Grindelwald scoffed "Give me a break Albus, this is not a playground where everything is divided in-between good and evil."

"Harry said the same thing"

"He has more sense than you! The boy is out there stopping death eaters and you're complaining about him not doing it your way!"

"Gellert, he's killing them! Killing them, denying them a chance to reform!"

"Reform?" Grindelwald laughed "You think those monsters are capable of reforming? Some of them have done stuff that I wouldn't dare do and you still think they can be redeemed!"

"Many would say the same about you" Dumbledore argued

"Look Albus" Grindelwald sighed "I admit that I've done things I'm not proud of, I don't necessarily agree that my reasons were wrong, but I will admit that my methods were. But like I said, those scum are worse than I ever was, fortunately they just aren't as good or they would have brought the country to its knees by now."

"So you think that Harry is right?"

"is there really a right when it comes to this type of situation?" Grindelwald countered "But the way I see it, you have to choose between trying to resolve this in a nice way or trying to resolve it in an effective way. You may not like his methods but Potter is effective and based off what I've heard and what you've told me, I doubt that he's going to take over as the dark lord once you and Voldy are gone.

If you want my advice, stay out of the way and let Potter end this. Retire Albus, enjoy whatever you have left of life and stop acting as protector of the universe. Nobody wants you to, if you keep this up then you will get hurt if your lucky but you will probably get killed"

"I can't do that" Albus shook his head "Harry might not become the next dark lord, but what if he does? I can't rest knowing I've let another potential dark lord free to terrorise the world"

"It's your funeral" Grindelwald sighed "you always were too stubborn for your own good, goodbye Albus. I likely won't see you again, so I just wanted to tell you that knowing you has been...an experience" A small smile made its way onto Dumbledore's face.

"Likewise" He stood and walked off.

"Bloody hell Albus" Grindelwald whispered to himself "You stubborn, stubborn man"

Soon Albus made his way back to Hogwarts, on his way to his office he met Professor McGonagall, who was looking undeniably pleased with something. Ever the curious being, Albus approached her and asked why she looked so happy.

"It's Mr Potter" McGonagall smiled "He's only been teaching here a day and everyone loves him"

"Are you sure?"

"Oh yes, well apart from Granger and Weasley but they're biased. The two of them have made complaints but I've looked into them and found that they were entirely untrue and Mr Potter had done nothing wrong. Everyone else loves him, I can pick out random students who have attended his class and they all love him"

"Are you sure you're not exaggerating?"

"Exaggerating?" McGonagall took Dumbledore's words like a challenge "Mr Smith, Mr Harrison" She called out to the first students who she saw. The two walked over, with innocent faces but were hoping that they hadn't got in trouble for their prank earlier.

"Yes Professor?" They both asked at the same time

"I'd like both of your opinions on Professor Potter" McGonagall spoke softly

"He's brilliant!" John exclaimed

"Yeah, he's awesome!" Leo added

"Really?" McGonagall glanced at Dumbledore before returning her attention to the two first years "May I ask why you think that?"

"Well he's a good teacher" Leo explained "he's fun and he explains everything in a way that's easy to understand. Plus he helps out in other subjects as well"

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked

"Well" John decided to answer "I was having trouble with charms, and he came up and gave me advice and now I'm like a hundred times better at it."

"He helped me with transfigurations" Leo smiled

"Really?" Professor McGonagall asked

"Yes, now I can transform my match stick into a needle with barley any effort. He's my favourite teacher, no offense Professor"

"None taken" McGonagall replied

"Miss" John spoke "Do you think you could convince him to stay for longer than a week?" He asked with pleading eyes

"Absolutely not" Dumbledore walked off

"I apologise" McGonagall...apologised "the headmaster and Mr Potter..." She paused, trying to find the right way to explain it.

"They don't like each other" Leo said

"They hare each other." She confirmed "Unfortunately, Mr Potter will be leaving at the end of the week and he is very stubborn so don't bother trying to change his mind. But if we're lucky then he may return later this year, or perhaps next year."

"That's a shame" John sighed "it's awesome having a teacher who is a vigilante and has a celebrity wife."

"Yes, I can see the appeal" McGonagall replied "now off to your lessons"

"Yes Professor" The two smiled before turning and leaving

"And no detours" She called out, and the two boys groaned before walking off.

A week passed and Dumbledore sat in his office, thinking, as he usually did. He was incredibly worried, the horcrux at the shack wasn't there. He had Mr Weasley and Miss Granger accompany him to the cave and the one there was a fake, he still didn't know where the rest of Tom's horcruxes were or what they are.

But someone did, was it Harry? Did he discover the horcruxes? Did he know that he was one? He wasn't sure what to do anymore, everyone kept telling him he was wrong. The staff, his brother, Grindelwald and nearly everyone else, not counting a few diehard supporters.

Today was Harry's last day of teaching, Dumbledore was a bit annoyed at how depressed everyone looked about the fact that he was leaving. He couldn't believe how the boy he tried to make humble and weak was in fact so strong and powerful. Not to mention an arrogant brat, oh Merlin, he's turning into Severus.

He was brought out of his thought by a knock on his door, Hagrid entered. Dumbledore smiled, Hagrid, kind and caring Hagrid was the one person he could always trust.

"You wanted to see me Professor?" Hagrid asked

"Yes Hagrid, I was wondering what you think of Harry?"

"Harry Potter? He's bloody brilliant! Never met a nicer boy, his parents would be proud. Ah, James and Lily, miss the pair greatly. They'd be so proud of young Harry, I would be, in fact I am. He gets along so well with all the animals, and I've heard from a few of the students that he's a good teacher. Shame he isn't working here permanently"

"Really?" Dumbledore asked, internally he was seething at the amount of popularity Harry has. "Hagrid, I wanted to ask you a question. You are aware about the disagreement between me and Mr Potter?"

"He did mention it a few times" Hagrid admitted

"I was wondering, I know you are fond of the boy but if you had to choose between me and him then who would you side with?"

"Well, the answer's obvious, ain't it?" Hagrid replied

"Of course" Dumbledore smiled, of course it was obvious "I..."

"Harry" Hagrid said

"What?" Dumbledore frowned

"I'd side with Harry" Hagrid answered "Never met a person I'd trust more"

"But...But...You...Hagrid...You...But...I...Dumbledore...Lemon drop...Hagrid...But...You...But...WHAT?!" Dumbledore was pretty sure that reality just broke "You'd side with him against me?!"

"I'd side with Harry against anybody" Hagrid replied

"But...I'm Dumbledore!"

"I know sir, I've been working for you all my life"

"I gave you a job! I defended you! You owe me!" Dumbledore raged once he took several moments to get over his shock.

"That's your argument is it?" Hagrid asked with amusement "You might have given me a job but don't think I haven't noticed you paying me less than the minimum wage"

"You...noticed that?" Dumbledore managed to keep a calm face

"Not at first, but Harry pointed it out then I asked the other professor and they confirmed it." Hagrid admitted "It must have been nice giving me a job and keeping me in your debt while saving money at the same time"

"I still defended you in the chamber incident" Dumbledore argued, ignoring Hagrids comment

"Yes you did" Hagrid agreed "but you never worked out what the monster was, someone as smart as you didn't work out what the monster was."

"Please Hagrid, only Harry knows and that's because he's the only one who can get into the chamber"

"I know" Hagrid replied "Harry showed me what it was one day, took me down to meet it. I can't tell you what or where it is, Harry put me under an unbreakable vow so don't bother trying to read my mind" Dumbledore paled

"Yes I know all about that" Hagrid continued "And I know that my old man paid you to help me, you didn't defend me because it was the right thing to do. All of these years I had supported you, I would've gave my life for you but then I find out that you dropped poor Harry with those muggles.

Me and McGonagall trusted you, ya said Harry would be looked after. You know how guilty I felt when I heard that Harry tried to kill himself? All because I trusted you and brought him so you could give him to those bloody muggles."

"Hagrid, you cannot talk to me like that!"

"Oh yeah, what are you going to do?" Hagrid spoke defiantly

"You are fired!" Dumbledore screamed

"Fine by me" Hagrid shrugged "I've had a backup job ready for years, a good friend of mine said I could work for him whenever I wanted"

"What job?! Who?!"

"That would be me" A voice called out, Dumbledore looked right and found Harry Potter calmly eating an apple and leaning against the wall "nice to know you replaced this wall after I blasted it, I felt very bad about that. Well, I actually didn't, it was fun"

"What are you doing here?!" Dumbledore demanded

"Eating an apple" Harry shrugged "alright Hagrid?"

"Alright Harry" Hagrid smiled "I'm ready to take you up on that job offer"

"About time mate" Harry vanished the apple "I was wondering if you'd ever accept"

"What job?!" Dumbledore repeated his one of his previous questions.

"Hagrid works for me now" Harry smiled "you see, at my home I have a large variety of creatures. Unicorns, thestrals, Runespoors, tigers, lions, Hippogriffs and dragons. I'm hiring Hagrid to help out, I'm providing him with the ground keepers hut at my house and that hut is roughly three times as big as Hagrids current one."

"Can I bring Fluffy? And Buckbeak?" Hagrid asked hopefully

"Course you can, you can bring any animal not owned by the school. I'll give you a portkey, and I'll have the elves bring your stuff home. Tomorrow I'll come and show you around" Harry conjured up a piece of rope and turned it into a portkey, he tossed it to Hagrid who disappeared as soon as it came into contact.

"Well Dumbledore" Harry said with amusement "life is funny isn't it? You've lost your most loyal supporter when you tried to make me your most loyal supporter, and dumb old Hagrid was smart enough to work out that you weren't exactly perfect. It's a crying shame."

"What do you want?" Dumbledore spoke as calmly as he could, which was incredibly hard to do so.

"Not much" Harry shrugged "food, sex and live in a world without Voldemort or his death eaters. I'm incredibly close to achieving the last one, I've nearly singlehandedly killed all the death eaters. By my rough estimate, there are only about a fifty or so left. Plus Voldemort, soon it'll all come to an end."

"It's pointless arguing with you isn't it?" Dumbledore sighed

"Yes" Harry chuckled "It's a shame it took you all of your money, fame and friends to make you see that."

"You still cannot convince me that I'm wrong" Dumbledore replied "I don't agree with your methods at all"

"Why is that? Can you give me a reason? An actual reason besides 'you are going dark' or 'this is not the way'?" Dumbledore didn't answer "I thought not, Albus I am so close to ending this war. Do not let your pride and ego and your code get in the way of me doing what needs to be done"

"And what exactly 'needs to be done'?" Dumbledore spat

"Me stopping these people so I can save everyone else" Harry answered "a few for many, all for the 'greater good' as you like to call it. You're no stranger to the idea, in fact I know you favour it"

"And what is that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing" Harry calmly walked to the open door, he stopped just before he went through it and smiled at Dumbledore "just that you had no problems with sacrificing me, that was your plan wasn't it?"

"You...you knew?" Dumbledore couldn't believe it

"If you're referring to the fact that you wanted Voldemort to kill me at the right moment so the horcrux in my head would be destroyed then yes, I do." Harry replied "I don't know what you were planning to do after all of his horcruxes were destroyed, maybe you were going to kill him. Perhaps that's why you don't want me to do it, you don't want me to steal your glory. Or maybe you wanted to capture him or 'reform and redeem' him. Either way, your plan won't work, I've got all of his horcruxes and I've nearly destroyed them all. Yes, even the locket and ring. The real locket, not the fake one that was left in the cave"

"That was you?!" Dumbledore shouted accusingly

"No, Sirius Black's younger brother actually. Turned on Voldemort and gave the locket to Kreatcher to try and destroy, Kreatcher gave it to me and I destroyed it before giving it back to Voldemort. I've destroyed all of his horcruxes, except the ring but I'm going to do that soon. The rest of them are all destroyed, even the one in my scar"

"Impossible!"

"We live in a world of magic, the only limits are the ones we make"

Harry walked out, leaving a seething and rage induced Dumbledore. Dumbledore was furious, at least one of his concerns was answered but how did Harry know about the horcruxes? How did Harry get it out of his scar? Was Harry lying?

No, the only thing Dumbledore knew was the fact that Harry had outsmarted him. Harry had cost him his fame, his reputation, his money, his political power and ruined his plans. Dumbledore had to stop him, he had to stop him, no matter what and he had to do it soon. If Harry could turn Hagrid of all people against him then he could do anything.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39 – Wedding, near the end.

Ginny arrived at the burrow, Bill had invited her to his wedding which was about to take place in a week where he was going to get married to Fleur, Ginny felt a bit smug knowing this wedding was going to happen thanks to her match making skills. She arrived in the burrow, she saw Charlie talking with the twins and Percy. Hermione and Ron had their own corner to talk, because obviously Hermione had to come.

Fleur was in the kitchen with Ginny's mum but neither looked too happy about it. Bill and her dad had just come downstairs.

"Bill!" Ginny ran up and hugged him, now everyone realised she was here.

"Alright firefly?" Bill hugged her back

"Brilliant, I don't know if you know but I'm in the Holyhead harpies"

"We know" Arthur beamed "youngest player ever to join the team, we're so proud of you"

"Thanks daddy" Ginny hugged him as well

"Alright ginger?" Charlie came forwards and embraced his sister, the twins followed shortly behind and the four hugged each other while Percy waited for everyone to finish before he had his turn.

"I can't believe you're still calling me that." Ginny replied "How is the dragon reserve doing?"

"Great, it's been so much better since your husband took over"

"What?" Molly Weasley came over, along with Fleur who also embraced Ginny in a hug and exchanged greetings, then Ron and Hermione came over "What do you mean Charlie?"

"Precisely what I said mum" Charlie responded "Harry took over about four years ago and the dragon reserve had just gotten better since, we have more dragons and more money and we're more popular."

"Why does Harry own the dragon reserve?" Arthur asked

"That would be Harrys doing" Ginny smiled "or at least partially, I told Harry about a week before my birthday about how your dragon reserve was having problems and the idiot went and told the goblins to buy and improve the entire reserve. It was a brilliant birthday present"

"So I'll have to thank you and him for that" Charlie smiled

"Yes and don't you forget it" Ginny grinned "How are you doing Fleur?"

"Brilliant Ginny" Fleur responded "I admit I was a bit sceptical about you being able to set me up with someone but I have to admit that it has worked out"

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked

"I set her up with Bill" Ginny answered

"You did what?!" Molly asked in shock

"I set the two up" Ginny shrugged "good thing I did, Fleur is a lot better than the other girls that tried to get with him"

"True" Bill nodded before planting a kiss on Fleurs cheeks "now, what about you? How are you doing?"

"Great, quidditch is a lot of work but I enjoy it"

"You shouldn't be playing quidditch" Mrs Weasley objected "it's dangerous"

"Mum, I don't really care. I love playing it and I'm going to keep doing it"

"But it isn't ladylike!" Molly hissed

"Who cares?" Ginny sighed "I don't care about being 'ladylike', I just want to enjoy life with Harry"

"Where is he?" Fleur asked "he was also invited to this wedding?"

"Why was he invited?!" Ron demanded

"Maybe because he is our brother-in-law" Fred offered

"Maybe because Fleur knows him" George added

"Maybe because Bill also likes him"

"Maybe because he is Charlie's boss"

"Maybe because he is a friend of the Goblins so he is Bills boss in a way"

"Maybe because the majority of us want him here" George concluded

"Hold on a second" Arthur spoke "you said Harry is a friend of the Goblins?"

"Oh yeah" Bill answered with a smile "the entire goblin nation has declared him a friend of the goblins"

"Why?" Arthur asked curiously

"I asked the same question" Bill replied "apparently it's partly because the Potters are an old and rich family, partly because they helped found Gringotts but mostly because they really like Harry. The goblins have told me that they wish more wizards were as respectful as him"

"Respect those tiny gits?" Ron asked with disgust

"Preciously my point" Bill gestured to Ron "the goblins look after all our money but nobody treats them with respect. Harry has not only helped them get richer but he also treated them with respect and kindness. In fact they're so fond of him that I actually got two promotions from just mentioning him"

"What?!" Ron blurted out in surprise

"The first time I mentioned I knew him and he was my sister boyfriend, the second time I told them that he was my sister's husband. In fact, we should be very thankful, Harry and the goblins have paid for the whole wedding"

"What do you mean?!" Mrs Weasley asked

"I know" Ginny spoke "when Fleur contacted us about the wedding, Harry said he'd pay for it because Fleur was his friend and Bill was his brother-in-law and family and because he had more money than he knew what to do with. Bill and Harry and Fleur then spent about an hour arguing about that but they came to an agreement where Harry pays for half of it and but doesn't get the two a wedding present and the two can owe him a favour in the future"

"A favour?" Hermione asked

"Yeah but knowing Harry he'll probably just forget about it entirely or ask for something simple"

"Where is Harry?" Fleur asked

"Here" A voice called out and Harry stepped in to the burrow "alright guys?"

Everyone hugged Harry, well apart from Ron and Hermione and Mrs Weasley who was looking very angry. She was furious over the fact that Bill had decided to get married to some French Veela without consulting her, the fact that the man who took her daughter away from her was the boss of two of her children, the fact that she wasn't the one who set up Bill or planned the wedding, it took her ages just to convince them to have it at the burrow and the fact that Harry was here.

"What are you doing here?!" She demanded and the room went quiet

"Getting hugged" Harry answered as he pried the twins off of him. "But in all honesty I am here for the wedding"

"I didn't invite you" Molly pointed out

"I'm not here for your wedding Mrs Weasley, no, I think I'm a few years too late for that particular event. I was referring to Bill and Fleurs wedding, both of whom, have invited me and Ginny."

"There is no way that I am allowing you here" She put her hand son her hips

"Fine, I'll wait outside" Harry shrugged

"No, I meant the wedding" Mrs Weasley clarified "you are not attending"

"Yes he is" Bill interrupted

"Don't interrupt me!" Molly ordered

"No" Bill defiantly refused "the only reason we're having this wedding here instead of in France was because you begged us to have it here, you can't decide who can and cannot attend our wedding as well."

"Bill..."

"I also agree" Fleur interrupted "Harry is a good friend of mine, I can't have many of my friends here because they couldn't make it to England so I'd like what little I can get."

"Yes but..."

"No mother" Bill said firmly "this is not your wedding, you have no say in how it goes and who attends. Me and Fleur both want Harry to attend, the only say you have is whether you attend or not"

"What?! But this is my house!"

"Actually, mum, it's dads house" Ginny pointed out

"Besides" Bill continued "if you don't like it then we can change the venue to the closest marriage hall, I'm sure with Harry we can probably get them to give us a last minute space"

"You'd...really do that?" Molly paled

"Yes mother" Bill replied "Harry is family and we are not having this wedding without him, after all he's done for this family, he at least has the right to attend"

"But he's dark!" Molly shouted

"Says who?" Fleur responded

"Dumbledore"

"Mum" Charlie spoke up "Dumbledore has been charged with theft, assisting in child abuse and assault in the past. All against Harry, I think he might be a tad bit biased, might just be me."

"How dare you talk about the headmaster like that?! Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards of all time!"

"Mum, Harry beat him with a plate" Ginny pointed out

"A plate? How did he do that?" Arthur asked

"Well" Ginny started "Harry was in his Curse costume and Dumbledore didn't know it was him at the time, they were in the great hall and they duelled. Long story short at the end Harry picked up a plate and tossed it at the floor, it then bounced up and hit Dumbledore between the legs"

"Is that true?" Arthur looked at Harry who was blushing a little

"Yes sir" Harry nodded "he tried to read my mind but was distracted when he couldn't get in, I took that moment to ricochet the plate and then the aurors came in and stopped the duel. I escaped because at the time nobody knew I was Curse."

"How old were you?" Bill asked

"At the time, it was shortly after fifth year started so I was about fifteen at the time"

"You beat Dumbledore at fifteen" Charlie looked at him with amazement

"Yeah" Harry nodded "now enough about me, there is a wedding going on here. Fleur, is your family coming?"

"Yes they are" Fleur smiled "my sister is looking very forward to meeting you"

"Is that right?" Harry raised an eyebrow

"Yes, she hasn't forgotten the 'brave and noble Harry Potter' who rescued her from the lake"

"It wasn't that special" Ron commented

"Coming from the guy who couldn't do anything but fall in the lake at the end" Ginny replied

"Hey, that's not my fault, I didn't know about the task"

"Only because you never completed the first task" Ginny pointed out

"Both were hilarious" Fred sighed as the memory replayed in his head

"Indeed" George agreed

Later that evening, Harry and Ginny eventually left. They returned for the wedding a week later, they entered and greeted all the guests. Harry arrived a black muggle suit while Ginny wore a green dress.

"I can't believe this" Ginny hissed and nodded forwards, Harry looked and saw Dumbledore standing by Bill and Arthur and Mrs Weasley. The latter seemed to be arguing with Bill.

"I guess we should go and help" Harry sighed, Ginny placed a hand on his arm and the two walked over.

"Hi guys, what's going on?" Harry asked

"Bill is arguing with his mother" Arthur answered, she took a step back and stood side by side with Harry and the three watched. Harry put a privacy spell around them just in case, from what he knew of the family, there would be some very loud shouting.

"No mother" Bill said "I don't care what you say"

"But Bill, why not?!"

"Mother, I told you, me and Fleur already have someone. We don't need nor want Dumbledore to conduct the ceremony"

"But Bill! Please!"

"No mother! This is our wedding and we'll do it the way we want! We've already booked someone to do it"

"But Bill, your ruining everything!"

"What exactly am I ruining?" Bill narrowed his eyes

"Your ruining the wedding I've been dreaming for you! Ever since you were ten years old I've been planning your wedding but you've ruined it! You chose a bride without asking me! I had to beg to get you to do it here! You also invited Harry even though I was against it and now you're not letting Dumbledore conduct the ceremony."

"Dumbledore wasn't invited!" Bill pointed out "And you keep forgetting that it's my wedding and my life! if I want to wear an earring then I will wear a bloody earing! If I want my hair long then it will be long and if I want to work as a curse breaker then I can! Also, if I want my wedding done a certain way then it will be done in that way, unless Fleur objects. Because this is our wedding, not yours.

Having dreams about how your children should be is one thing but forcing it upon them is an entirely different thing mother. I'm starting to wish we had followed in Harry and Ginny's footsteps!"

"And what does that mean?!" Molly shouted

"It means we should have gotten married without telling you" Bill responded and Mrs Weasley gasped "You've been forcing your views and beliefs on me and my siblings ever since we were born and I'm not having you do the same to Fleur."

"Bill" Ginny interrupted "why don't you let me conclude here, you go and enjoy the wedding with your soon to be wife and I'll deal with this"

"Thanks Ginny" Bill sighed "I'm really sorry about this, I promise to make it up to you but you're right. Today is Fleurs special day and I'm not going to let anyone ruin this"

"Do not worry" Harry waved his hand "she's always right"

"Yes she is" Bill chuckled before walking off

"Now mother" Ginny started, Harry and Dumbledore shared a look, the two may not like each other but they agreed without saying to step back and leave the women to battle on their own. "I will continue where my beloved brother has left off, don't interrupt me. You've been forcing your views and beliefs on me and my siblings since we were born and never even given a thought to what we wanted, in your eyes we should all just work for the ministry and get jobs and settle down and have kids but you never asked what we wanted.

You want all of us to look and act a certain way even though it is just not us, you've tried to make all of us into something that we're not and that's why you've nearly lost all of us."

"What do you mean?!"

"Well mother, Bill and Charlie got jobs out of the country as soon as they could so they could get away from you. Percy practically dived out of the house and into his new apartment when he was given the opportunity, the twins moved away and opened a joke shop which they now live in and all of them are doing better than they would've been if they followed your rules.

Me, I got married and moved out as soon as possible because I found a husband who loved me but didn't try and force his views on me. He didn't care if I was 'lady like' or if I acted in an 'improper' way. He loved me for me, and that was all the excuse I need. At the moment, the only one you have left is Ron. With him it all comes down to if he gets his lazy butt up and gets a job and if he doesn't then you're stuck with someone who is only there because he has no other option. I'm sorry mother, but you've let your dreams and wants drive others away."

"I'm sorry Molly" Mr Weasley spoke up "but Ginny is right" Everyone looked up in surprise, the kind, quiet and mild mannered Mr Weasley of all people was disagreeing with Molly Weasley. "You've been driving our family apart, you've been driving us apart" A long silence fell

"What does that mean Arthur?" Tears dripped down Mrs Weasleys face

"I'm not sure" Arthur sighed "after this wedding is over, we can have a talk and decide that. But at the moment...I'm just not sure. Harry and Ginny, go and enjoy the wedding"

"Thanks dad" Ginny hugged her father, after that was done, Harry shook his hand and walked off.

The two continued greeting guests, soon Bill and the rest of the Weasley brothers walked over. They noticed their mother crying in a corner.

"What happened to mum?" Ron asked, Bill froze and so did Ginny. Both trying to work out what to say.

"She's just so happy" Harry answered "you know, with her first son getting married and all" Bill and Ginny sighed in relief.

"You sure? She doesn't look that happy" Ron gestured to Mrs Weasley who was crying her eyes out

"Ron" Harry spoke slowly "she's a woman, they cry, a lot."

"True" Ron conceded before taking some of the chocolate from a local table, everyone else rolled their eyes.

"So Harry, muggle clothes?" Charlie raised an eyebrow

"Yeah, Ginny said she liked them and what Ginny likes I have to get" Harry joked

"Oh, so our sister already has you wrapped around her finger?" Charlie asked with amusement "By the way boys, we haven't given Harry the big brother talk yet" Charlie looked at his brothers, Bill just shook his head while Percy did the same. Ron was somewhere between wanting to do it and knowing it wouldn't work and the twins took a step back.

"What's wrong with you two?" Charlie asked

"Charlie" Fred spoke first "the big brother talk, we know it as threaten Harry."

"Yes" George nodded "I wouldn't advise doing that"

"Seeing as Harry could kick all of our collective arses with no effort"

"And that's not mentioning what Ginny will do once Harry is done"

Charlie looked at Ginny and Harry who were smiling innocently, although they looked anything but innocent. It may have been Ginny tapping her wand, it might have been the lightning on Harrys finger tips or the looks in their eyes but Charlie decided to take a step back. The one thing the dragon reserve had taught him was to recognise danger and get out before it became a problem.

"Oh, look their learning" Ginny placed her wand back in her holster "we'll see you in a bit" The two walked away.

"Was that lightning coming from his fingers?" Charlie asked

"Yep" George smiled

"If something is impossible then the words 'challenge accepted' can be heard from inside of Harry's head" Fred added

Harry and Ginny greeted Victor Krum shortly before the wedding ceremony started, they both avoided Ginny's aunt and took their seats. Soon Fleur came out, the two stood at the altar, looking at each other with eyes full of love. They accepted each other and sealed the marriage with a kiss, everyone got up and clapped.

The next few minutes were spent with everyone dancing, Harry and Ginny danced together while Fleur and Bill did the same. Even Ron and Hermione danced together, the couples were enjoying the party when an explosion ruined the moment. Everyone began panicking when the tent caught on fire.

However, the panic was short lived as the fire flew straight into Harry's hands before disappearing. Harry smirked at Dumbledore who was about to put the fire out, that was when Harry noticed Dumbledore's wand. He recognised it instantly, and he was pleased. After he mentally called himself an idiot for not seeing it before, maybe he could change his plans after Voldemort had been defeated. He pulled Fleur and Bill off of the dance floor.

"Everyone, stay down and out of the way." Harry ordered, and everyone obeyed, knowing better than to disobey the famous vigilante. Except for Dumbledore and Ron and Hermione who stood defiantly, Harry and Ginny rolled their eyes.

Soon death eaters barged into the tent, but they immediately stopped when they saw Harry. Dumbledore was a bit pissed off at the fact that he wasn't noticed, meanwhile the death eaters were sweating. The dark lord told them to attack here but don't kill Potter, but they were all rather hoping that Potter wasn't here.

"Hello gentlemen" Harry smiled "I'd like to thank you for providing us with entertainment, let's take this outside."

Harry and Ginny walked out, the death eaters looked at each other, unsure about what they should do. But eventually they all followed them outside, in fact, everyone did. Harry and Ginny took a position on one end of the field and the death eaters took the other side. Harry did the motion of pulling a hood up and his curse costume appeared, Ginny turned her dress into battle robes. The pair took a battle stance after Harry placed a dome around them to stop interferance, and faced the death eaters.

"Stop!" Dumbledore shouted "Stop this madness please! You do not have to fight, I implore you, it's not to late to reform. You can redeem yourselves"

"Are you mad?" One death eater sneered "You've gone senile old man"

"I agree" Fleur growled "you idiots have ruined my wedding, get them Harry"

"Yeah Harry! Get them!" Bill shouted

"Let's go Harry!" The twins clapped as they cheered "Let's go! Let's go Harry! Let's go!"

"Harry please!" Dumbledore looked at Harry

"Hey, it's for the bride" Curse responded before he fired off a lightning bolt at the death eaters.

Ginny waved her wand and the pair were engulfed in smoke, which slowly covered all of the dome. The death eaters began firing in a blind panic, outside of the dome, Dumbledore began trying to break the dome down so he could go in and stop everything. But it was harder than he thought, he asked Bill and the others for help but nobody was willing.

Soon the dome came down on its own and the smoke cleared, leaving Curse and his wife standing beside a pile of dead bodies. Curse pulled up his hood.

"Before you say anything, Ginny just stunned them and incapacitated them, I did the actual killing" Harry smiled

"Was this necessary?!" Dumbledore roared

"Yes" Harry replied "Dobby, Stink"

"Yes master" The pair popped over

"Get rid of this trash, the dragons at Potter manor could do with some food"

"Right away" They nodded and began getting rid of the bodies.

Dumbledore stormed off, knowing that it's pointless to argue with Potter. The rest of the wedding went normally, as if the murdered death eaters never happened. Soon Ginny and Harry went home and Harry told Ginny he needed a minute, she removed herself from his mind and gave him his privacy. Five minutes later he came out with the happiest face he could possibly make and dragged Ginny straight to the bedroom and locked the door.

He pulled Ginny into a deep and passionate kiss, which she returned. Harry lifted her up, still kissing her as he did, and carried her over to the bed. He placed her down and climbed on top of her.

"Harry" Ginny managed to get out between kissing and the removal of clothes "what's up with you? You're very passionate today...not that I'm complaining"

"Read my mind" Harry whispered as he was kissing Ginny's neck, Ginny did so and immediately gasped. Harry stopped to view her reaction.

"Merlin Harry! Bloody Merlin! You were trained by Merlin! And the founders! BLOODY HELL!" She screamed in surprise

"Can we finish up here and talk later?"

"Are you serious?!" Ginny shouted

"No, I'm Harry but seriously let's finish up and I'll tell you everything once we're done"

"Fine" Ginny grumbled but the effect was ruined by the fact that she pulled him into a kiss.

The next day, Harry woke with Ginny at his side. He told her about how he was trained by Merlin and the founders and how they rescued him.

"Wait" Ginny spoke "I know you're his heir and everything but why can he still talk to you"

"That's a bit more complicated" Harry admitted "and I can't answer that, at least not yet"

"When can you?" Ginny asked

"The bad news is not until Voldemort is dead"

"And the good news?" Ginny raised an eyebrow

"I'm going to kill him the tomorrow" Harry said calmly

"WHAT?!" Ginny blurted out

"I have a plan, Voldemort is dying tomorrow, Ginny. I'm going to finally end it"

"How?"

"Well...I'll need your help"

"Naturally" Ginny smiled

"And today we'll be spent with me asking a few people for favours. Nothing dangerous, but I will need help. So, here is my plan..."

The next day Voldemort sat in front of his trembling death eaters. He was royally pissed off, he had just heard that he now has forty death eaters left and they were all in this very building.

"Pathetic" He spat "how in the name of Salazar has Potter managed to reduce my army to this?!"

Nobody dared speak, or even look at him. Malfoy trembled, as did Nott and every other member. All silently agreeing with each other to do whatever is necessary to avoid getting hit with the torture curse again. The dark lord had become increasingly violent lately, snapping at nearly anything. Lucius spent two minutes under the curse yesterday for having a hair out of place and Nott for breathing wrong.

"WELL?!" Voldemort shouted "What has happened to my glorious death eater army?! All brought down by one insolent, arrogant BOY!"

Voldemort was about to continue when a flash of fire appeared above him and two letters dropped from it, Voldemort looked at it, the red one wasn't a letter. It was another howler, it rose in the air. Soon the calm and amused voice of Harry Potter echoed from it.

"Hello Tom, in case you haven't realised, this is Harry Potter speaking. You know, Harry Potter, the boy who has been killing your death eaters? The one who has kicked your ass more times than he can count, yeah, that one. Right now, Tom, I've reduced your death eaters to around forty. I have a proposal for you, you come and face me at Hogwarts in a one on one duel.

I won't have anybody else interfere, and I'll raise the stakes. I swear on my life and magic that if you beat me then I will let you kill me, how about that? Good enough incentive for you? Come on, just you and me, the dark lord verses the boy-who-lived. Voldemort verses Harry Potter; let's end this, once and for all. Unless you're afraid, I'll take any refusal to participate as you were too scared. Today, at two o clock, Hogwarts's wards will let you in and I'll have gotten rid of all the students and teachers so nobody else can interfere. What's it going to be? Run or fight, either way, I'm coming for you. If you accept then pick up the white envelope, it's timed to activate at two.

P.S I've destroyed the last horcrux, the ring. Choose well Tom"

Soon the letter burnt, leaving a pile of ashes and a thoughtful Voldemort. He couldn't not fight, to refuse would make him look weak. No, he couldn't refuse. It seems that Potter doesn't know about Nagini being a horcrux, that could work in his favour and he was sure that Potter didn't know about his backup plan in case the horcruxes were destroyed. No, there was no way he could know that, nobody knew that.

Fortunately he had put himself through some strengthening rituals, he was ten times stronger than before. At the moment he could face himself from before Potter had destroyed his body and wipe him away as if he was nothing, he should be able to destroy Potter easily. At the moment his biggest concern was Nagini, he couldn't leave her unattended. She was the last of his horcruxes, she had to be kept safe. The best thing to do would be to drop Nagini somewhere near Hogwarts and pick her up again when he finishes off Potter.

"Lucius" Voldemort stood up "Nott, Avery, Wormtail, you three will accompany me to Hogwarts, we're leaving in three hours. Prepare yourselves"

"Yes master" The three mumbled and took that as being dismissed.

A few hours later, the four and one snake, portkeyed out of the mansion. The current occupants, breathed a sigh of relief as Voldemort had finally left and they didn't have to worry about getting hit with another crucio.

Many of them were sweating out of fear, in fact they are still sweating. They're sweating more than normal, what the hell is going on? The mansion was getting unbelievable hot.

"What the hell is going on?!" One Death eater demanded

"Look out the window" Another cried, they all looked out of the window and one of them actually fainted at what he saw.

Outside the window was a giant ball of fire about twenty five feet wide and tall, from it three snake heads sprouted, also made of fire. They snakes and the ball combined into a hundred feet. They looked down and saw the source of the fire, the fire was originating from a wand. One that was currently held by Harry Potter, he gave them a smile just before the fire advanced on the mansion.

They couldn't portkey out, as their portkey were designed to take them here. The anti-apparition wards were also up, in short they were screwed. As the last of Voldemorts supporters, except three others, burnt up in the mansion. Harry Potter turned around and made his way to Hogwarts.

At Hogwarts, Voldemort had arrived with his three death eaters. He left Nagini in the forest, and made his way inside. Potter was right, the entire building was deserted, there was not a single student or teacher here.

"Hello" Several voices called out, Voldemort and his three death eaters were surrounded by Harry Potters, each wearing his Curse costume. "We're Harry Potter, try and find the real one, if you do then you'll win a prize."

"After them!" Voldemort roared when the Potters began running, two of them got hit by curses but disappeared into the air. "They're fakes, find the real one, now!"

The death eaters didn't waste time, they each ran in opposite directions. Nott soon found himself in the potions room, his wand was out and he was looking around constantly. The room was silent, he was about to leave when he heard a sound. He turned to see nothing was there, he was getting paranoid.

Then another sound was heard, and Nott turned to find a cauldron had fallen. This worried him, the windows weren't open, in fact there were no windows so it definitely wasn't air that moved it.

"Hello Nott" Nott turned as fast as humanly possible.

He was going to fire off a killing curse when his hand was cut off from his arm, he screamed in pain as the blood poured from his wrist. He clenched the bleeding stump where his hand used to be, the reason for his pain chose that moment to grab his hair and make him look up.

"Good afternoon Mr Nott" Curse spoke slowly "our crimes catch up with us eventually, your son asked that I dedicate your death to his mother and sister, both of whom you beat and torture. I hope your death makes them happy"

"NO WAIT! WAIT! I SAID WAIT!" Nott's screams were cut off Curse shot him in the face with a bullet spell.

A minute later, Lucius Malfoy was walking up a corridor, he was nearing the hospital wing. He walked inside, with his wand ready. The killing curse was on his tongue, suddenly he was hit in the back of the head by something hard, he stumbled forward before turning and firing the curse but nobody was there.

He looked down to see what had hit him, it was a bedpan, what made matters worse was his head now felt a bit wet and there wasn't any blood. He was hit in the back again, this time in the shoulder, he turned and repeated the process but this time he found a galleon that was thrown at him.

"That's my opinion of you" A cold voice spoke, Malfoy spun around several times but couldn't see who was speaking "you've pissed on the name of wizards and purebloods and gotten by with nothing but your money"

"SHOW YOURSELF!" Malfoy demanded

"I will if you turn around, you absolute dunderhead"

Malfoy spun and was about to fire when he felt his arm getting grabbed, the next few seconds were a blur but it ended up with Malfoy being pressed against a wall. His wand was somewhere on the floor and Curse had him in a wrist lock.

"Hello Malfoy" Curse spoke slowly, Malfoy tried to move but after Curse applied more pressure to his wrist.

"What do you want?" Malfoy tried to sound brave, but the effectiveness was cut down by his high pitched voice.

"I want to kill you" Curse said if it was obvious, which in this case, it was.

"NO! PLEASE!" Malfoy begged, the being brave act was abandoned completely "PLEASE! DON'T HURT ME! I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING! JUST DON'T KILL ME!"

"Anything?" Curse raised an eyebrow under his hood

"YES!" Malfoy nodded violently "ANYTHING!"

"There is this one thing I've always wanted" Curse spoke quietly "before the start of my second year, I went into a book store. Gilderoy Lockhart was signing autographs that day" Malfoy was very confused and unsure where this was going but he was too bat shit terrified to ask.

"I was with my wife that day" Curse continued "she wasn't my wife at the time but details, anyway, this blonde idiot comes up and insults us both. I silence him with a few words, then his father comes along and says a few words before he leaves. But just before he leaves he puts a diary in my wife's cauldron.

He didn't know what the diary was, all he knew was that it was dangerous and dark and would've probably killed my wife. He was right, it was dangerous and it would've killed her if I hadn't got to it first. Ever since that day, when that man tried to kill the love of my life, I've envisioned ripping his perfect blonde hair out. In fact, I'm going to do that"

A snap was heard before Malfoy could say anything, he screamed in pain as he had just realised that his wrist had been broken. Curse tossed him on his stomach and placed a knee on the upper part of his back, he wrapped a hand around Malfoys long blonde hair, and then he pulled. The result was Malfoy screaming in pain while his hair was on the floor and blood poured from his bloody scalp.

"I hope your money can buy you out of hell but I doubt it" Curse said just before he fired another bullet curse. He then cast a cleaning spell on his hands just in case the piss went on his hands.

Wormtail was currently running around, he had heard the screams of pain and wanted to escape but the dark lord had also told him to stay and find Potter, as he turned into a dead end, he realised that if Voldemort didn't kill him then Potter would.

"Hello Wormtail" Two voices called out, Peter turned to see Sirius and Remus with their arms crossed and tapping the wands in their hands. Both looked undeniably pleased.

"S...Sirius? Remus?"

"Yes" Remus nodded

"Isn't it wonderful, he remembers us Moony!" Sirius said cheerfully but the look he was giving was murderous.

"Probably because he was laughing at us the whole time." Remus smiled evilly "Laughing behind our backs, I bet he was hysterical while you were in Azkaban and I was being forces to move from place to place because nobody was willing to hire me and I no longer had my friends to help me"

"Now wait, I..." What Wormtail was about to say was cut off as he was hit by a silencing charm from both Remus and Sirius

"No Peter, we don't want to hear it" Sirius said calmly "Remus it's your turn first, remember, two each."

"Okay, hmm, I know! I have this brilliant one that Harry taught me!" Remus fired a spell and a black blob flew out of his wand and hit Wormtail foot which was now burning"

"Nice!" Sirius exclaimed "My turn, I'll go for something simple" He removed the silencing spell before he fired a bone breaking curse at Peter's shoulder.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" Peter screamed in pain.

"We're hurting you" Remus said calmly "don't worry, we won't kill you" Remus said before he fired a cutting curse which hit Peter's side and resulted in a lot of blood coming out.

"I despise the dark arts" Sirius said "but this is the last time I'm going to use them so I'll make an make it worth it, now you betrayed Lily and James because you were a coward with no balls. So how about a nice and lovely spell that makes you feel what it's like to be castrated, Lily would approve, shame it doesn't actually do it"

Sirius fired the spell and it hit Wormtail, Wormtail spent several minutes crying and screaming in pain. Wormtail prayed for an end, the praying worked. Wormtail was hoisted into the air before he was slammed violently against the wall, he was held by Curse who took that moment to remove his hood.

"Hi" Harry gave him a small smile "mum and dad say hi...so does my friend, he is called Emerald"

Harry gestured to the snake that was slithering towards them, Harry gave Wormtail one last look of disgust before he transformed the rat into...a rat. He tossed him to Emerald who wrapped his body around Wormtail before he placed his fangs in him.

"Harry" Sirius and Remus hugged him once he walked over

"Hey Padfoot, Moony" Harry replied "get out of here quickly, nobody can know you're here"

"Are you sure about this?" Sirius looked right into Harry's eyes

"Yes, I have to face him" Harry said with an unbreakable determination "I'm ending this today"

"Good luck Harry" Remus patted him on the shoulder "for what it's worth, your parents would be very proud of you"

"And so are we!" Sirius added "I love you Harry, you're the best godson an idiot like me could ask for. Now, if you have to do this then do it. I want you to go there and give Voldy an ass kicking he will forget, mostly because he will be too dead to remember it."

"Okay Padfoot" Harry smiled "I love the both of you, you know that right?"

"Yes we do" Sirius smiled brightly "Now go on...wait, before you go I'd like to tell you something. I am seeing someone, and I was planning to propose to her, and if you survive, when you survive I'd like you to be my best man."

"What about Remus?" Harry gestured to the former werewolf

"We both agreed on you, now this woman, her name is..."

"Samantha White" Harry interrupted "I know, I'm the one who set you up with her"

"You what?!" Sirius blurted out in surprise

"What? You think she met you in that bar by accident?" Harry smiled "By the way 'seal' was a nice answer to the 'what animal would you be' question"

"She...she told you?!"

"Only the first date, the rest is your business. Though, if I really wanted to know then I'd just pry it out of your minds"

"You absolute Slytherin!" Sirius shouted, Remus fell over laughing

"Guilty as charged, now Samantha would probably prefer a summer wedding so wait until next year. It'll give you more time to plan, I'm off now."

"Where are you going?!" Sirius demanded as Harry walked off

"Oh, you know, taking a walk, admiring some scenery, fighting Voldemort, eating some food, killing Voldemort. The usual, bye guys."

"That" Remus stood up after reducing himself to chuckling "was brilliant, why are you so pissed off though?"

"He set me up! Not that I'm unhappy with the result but still"

"Well if it makes you feel better, he's off to fight the most dangerous dark lord in wizarding history"

"..."

"..."

"Fine...We'll call it even" Sirius replied.

Meanwhile Voldemort had just got to the great hall, he entered but couldn't find anybody in. He had his wand out, ready to fire at the slightest movements. He looked around.

"Hello Tom" A familiar voice called, Voldemort found Potter sitting in the headmasters chair with his feet up on the head table "how are we? Don't bother waiting for company, I already greeted them"

"Of course you did, now what Potter?"

"Like I said" Harry stood up and jumped over the table and stood in front of it "you and me are going to duel to the end. One of us will be dead by the end of this, my money is on you"

"You will lose Potter" Voldemort smiled

"Will I?" Harry raised an eyebrow

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort roared, the spell flew straight to Harry who merely dodged and the spell flew into the wall.

Voldemort was staring at him in disbelief, the rituals should have made him much more faster and stronger. He didn't hold back then, Potter shouldn't have been able to dodge! How much power did Potter have?

"STOP!" A voice boomed, Voldemort and Harry looked towards the entrance where Dumbledore stood

"Dumbledore" They both growled, before sharing a look with each other that said 'that never happened'.

"I challenge you both to a par terram duel" He said as the doors closed

"Ha!" Harry laughed as a sinister smile came on to Voldemorts face "fine with me, voldy?"

"Yes, I accept Dumbledore, a three-way duel"

"Wait a sec" Harry put his hand up "let's ready the field". The other two nodded and all three began firing multiple spells at the walls and ceilings and floor.

"Now" Harry smirked "are we ready?" A rush of power came into both Voldemort and Dumbledore, the two stood amazed, as they realised what power Potter possessed. Eventually the two nodded, and the all three took a guard position, Harry was about to fire when he received a mental message from a certain redhead.

"Before we start Voldemort" Harry spoke with a huge smile "I feel like I should let you know something, all of your death eaters are dead and my brilliant wife just decapitated your snake." Voldemort growled before he aimed his wand at Harry.

"AVADE KEDAVRA!"

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Dumbledore shouted, Voldemort dodged his attack while Harry did the same. The three looked at each other, and the battle began.

While the fight had started, the marauders watched on anxiously.

"Padfoot, Moony" James spoke quietly "good job with Wormtail but what is a par terram?"

"It's a duel where all the participants are brought up to the same physical and magical level" Remus explained whilst still keeping his eyes on the battle "it's essentially now just a test of who is more skilled and knowledgeable"

"Those spells are special field spells" Sirius added "in a duel they freeze the entire environment around them, so anything that is damaged returns to normal a few seconds later. They've also made sure that nobody can enter or exit the hall now, so they're stuck until one of them wins."

"Oh god!" Lily whispered as she clutched onto James's arm, both two focused to realise "I'm worried about Harry"

"He'll win" James said confidently "I'm positive he'll win"

"He's my godson" Sirius spoke "he can beat anyone! He'll win just so I can pound him later for the set up"

"He does impossible thing daily, remember?" Remus replied "If anyone can win, it's him. Have faith Lily"

"You're right" Lilly wiped the tears from her eyes "He's Harry, his my son, he can do anything!" She said with an other worldly determination.

The four became quiet as they watched.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40 –Final battle, deathly hallows.

Ginny joined Sirius and Remus and the rest of the order in Grimmauld place, except for Ron, Hermione and Mrs Weasley who didn't know they were there. Daphne, Astoria and Neville were also there along with the twins.

"What's going on guys?" Neville asked

"It's Harry" Sirius answered "he said he was finally ready to end everything, he told us all to get everyone out of Hogwarts and we did. Voldemort showed up a few minutes ago, along with Malfoy, Nott and Wormtail. Harry killed the last three and is going after Voldemort as we speak.

"Uh oh" Ginny whispered before she pulled Sirius closer "Dumbledore's arrived" she whispered

"What?!" Sirius hissed

"Sirius!" Mad-eye shuffled in "We tried to get Dumbledore here but he escaped just now"

"You don't say?" Sirius sarcastically replied "I wish we could see what Harry was doing"

"We can" Ginny commented, she pressed her wand to her head and with a few flicks an image began playing in the air. It showed Harry and Voldemort talking, it then showed Albus entering.

"How did you do that?" Moody asked

"Sorry, but Harry told me to never reveal a secret unless I absolutely need to"

"Constant vigilance!" Moody barked in appreciation "You picked a good one"

"He picked me actually" Ginny smiled, the room soon became quiet as everybody watched.

* * *

Harry and his two opponents eyed each other, each waiting for the next one to make the first move. Dumbledore stood calmly, Voldemort smirked confidently and Harry stood cautiously. He was under no disillusion about the two only relying on power, he knew for a fact that the men in front of him are known just as much for their skill as they are for their power, before he could beat them all easily but now they are all on a level playing field.

Voldemort made the first move, he fired a cutting curse at Dumbledore before spinning and firing a killing curse at Harry. Harry ducked while Dumbledore blocked, Dumbledore fired a stunner at Voldemort. While they were engaged in combat, Harry put his wand back in his holster to free up his hands and summoned all the cutlery on the head table to his hands.

Dumbledore and Voldemort were trading spells when Dumbledore was hit in the face by something, he looked down and saw that the offending object was a spoon. Looking up it seems that Voldemort was hit in the back of the head by one as well, they both looked to Mr Potter who had begun throwing cutlery rapidly. The two blocked and dodged each and every one, until Harry had nothing but a knife in each hand.

"Have you been reduced to a child?" Voldemort asked in amusement "One who has to throw things when he is losing?"

Harry didn't say anything, he just smiled before he threw both knives at the same time. Just before each knife hit the targets shields they exploded in a bright flash of light and blinded Voldemort and Dumbledore.

Voldemort could barely blink before he was hit in the face by a fist and flew backwards, Dumbledore barley managed to duck on time and avoid being hit by Voldemort's flying body. He moved forward and across the hall and fired multiple body bind curses at Harry who dodged them all before he flicked his wand back to his hand and fired a cutting curse.

Dumbledore ducked as the curse flew past him, Voldemort got to his feet. He rubbed his jaw before aiming his wand, the three then started firing and a barrage of spells came from all three. Each and every one of them were blocked or missed their targets, Dumbledore shot a stunner at Harry who batted it at Voldemort who conjured a shield.

Voldemort and Dumbledore both fired a spell at Harry who rolled out of the way, and ran down the hall, dodging spell fire as he did. When he got past Dumbledore he shot a metal spike at the elderly man who managed to get a shield up in time, Dumbledore was about to return fire when he had to duck and avoid a killing curse that Voldemort shot at him.

Voldemort then fired the same curse at Harry who just about dodged it before he jumped over the table and now stood in front of Voldemort. He wasted no time and tackled Voldemort, the two of them ended up on one of the tables. Harry mounted him and began hitting him repeatedly in the face with punches. Voldemort roared and quickly flicked his arms out, a blast of energy roared from him and Harry shot up in the air and into the enchanted sky where he became unseen.

Voldemort hopped to his feet and dodged another spell from Dumbledore before he fired a bone breaker curse at the old man, Dumbledore blocked the curse and fired a blue light from his wand. Voldemort sidestepped before firing back with a skin shredding curse, Dumbledore did the same except he fired the same blue light.

Suddenly a crack was heard and from the enchanted sky, lightning shot straight at Voldemort, Voldemort jumped back to avoid the lightning but the lightning managed to hit the ground underneath him. The ground exploded and he flew back, meanwhile Dumbledore fired a spell at the air.

A gust of wind behind him made him look back to see a black eagle flying at him, he fired a spell at the eagle who dodged and flew faster. As it got closer it transformed into Harry, who attempted to strike Dumbledore with a kick to the face. Dumbledore stopped this with a shield, Harry kicked off the shield into a flip and landed an inch from it before be slammed his wand into the shield violently and broke it. Dumbledore was about to fire off a spell when Harry hit him with a spinning back kick. Dumbledore flew a few meters back, Harry was about to fire another spell at him when his 'ill-intent' spell caused his entire body to vibrate.

He looked up and saw Voldemort shoot a yellow light at him, Harry deflected the light before shooting a purple one at Dumbledore who rolled out of the way. Voldemort tried to burn Harry with a blast of green fire, Harry hit himself with a freezing charm. Voldemort watched in delight as he saw Potter burn, but that soon turned into disappointment when he realised that Potter was fine.

Dumbledore took advantage of Voldemort's distraction and hit him with a banishing curse which caused the dark lord to fly back and land on his back, he then turned to Harry and shot a wind blast which did nothing more that push him back a little.

"You call that a wind blast?" Harry asked in a mocking tone "No, this is a wind blast"

Harry fired the same spell at Dumbledore and the old man was tossed in the air and landed next to Voldemort, the two looked at each other and shared a look before they hopped to their feet and both shot a banishing curse at Harry. Harry tried to block it but was pushed back and landed on the head table which he fell off and Voldemort then turned on each other and started firing spells.

* * *

Meanwhile, everyone else was watching, the rapt audience in Grimmauld place were staggered at the displays they're seeing.

"Come on Harry" Ginny whispered "you need to win"

"W...what happens if Harry loses?" Neville asked nervously

"There's a reason why people don't participate in par terram duels anymore" Remus responded "because the entire field is levelled, the loser loses their magic and it's transferred to the winner as that person is the most worthy to keep the magic. So, in short, whoever wins, will be unstoppable." Neville gulped.

"It's fortunate for us that Harry is going to win" Ginny said in a voice that meant there had better not be any arguments against it happening.

* * *

In the duel, Dumbledore and Voldemort were meters away as they were exchanging spells, suddenly Dumbledore got the upper hand and Voldemort tripped back and leaned against one of the tables. Harry chose that moment to flip above Voldemorts head and land in-between the two, he fired a variety of spells at Dumbledore who was forced to move back as he blocked them, Voldemort tried to hit Potter from behind with a cutting curse.

But Harry quickly ducked and the curse flew to Dumbledore who was taken by surprise but had just managed to block it, Harry spun around and kicked Voldemort in the chest which caused him to fly over the table he was leaning against. Harry then turned his attention back to Dumbledore. Dumbledore shot a green coloured spell at Harry, Harry ducked and the spell soared just above his head.

He shot a slipping spell at Dumbledore's feet and the old man fell to the ground, Harry jumped and Dumbledore quickly rolled back and avoided getting his head stomped by Harrys foot. Dumbledore shot a disarming curse when he stood up, Harry spun out of the way before responding with his own which Dumbledore dodged.

Voldemort was getting back up to his feet when Harry shot one of his bullet spells at the headmaster, the spell broke through his shield and grazed his arm. Dumbledore was distracted, so he didn't notice Voldemorts blast of fire that he shot at Harry. Fortunately Harry did and leaped out of the way and threw a cutting curse at the same time, the curse hit Voldemorts left cheek. Dumbledore shot another blast of wind, Harry took advantage of it and jumped out of the way while shooting fire out of his wand at the same time.

The fire was pushed by the wind, and headed straight to Voldemort. Voldemort covered his face, his arms were a bit burnt but thankfully his robes were magically protected. Voldemort in his fury, shot an acidic spell at Harry who dodged and found himself on top of one of the tables.

"Reducto!" Dumbledore shouted and the table under Harry's feet blew up and he went flying across the hall and hit a wall. The table returned to normal just as Voldemort fired a metal spike at Harry who rolled out of the way, and rolled once more to avoid another spell coming from Dumbledore.

Harry shot a dozen birds out of his wand at Dumbledore before repeating the process with bats for Voldemort, as the two began banishing the pesky animals, Harry fired a cutting curse at Dumbledore which hit him in his left leg and fired a bone breaker curse at Voldemort which also hit him in the same leg. They screamed in pain but vanished the birds and bats, the two looked up to find Harry Potter but were surprised when they saw ten Harry Potters who were smirking as they ran around the hall in a random pattern.

Voldemort and Dumbledore began firing spells at the Potters, each one disappeared after being struck until there were no Harrys left. Suddenly Dumbledore had an idea, he aimed his wand in the air and soon the enchanted sky was gone and revealed one Harry James Potter who was attached to the ceiling like a spider. Dumbledore had to admit it was a brilliant idea, Voldemort did not share his enthusiasm and fired a curse at Harry who jumped off the ceiling.

Mid-air, Harry summoned a plate to his hands and Dumbledore's eyes widened. He prepared himself, Harry landed on a nearby wall and pushed off. He tossed the plate mid-spin and the plate flew towards the ground and bounced off it. It seems that Dumbledore was safe as the plate bounced off the floor and this time it hit Voldemort between the legs. As the man was trying desperately not to crumble over, Harry landed on one of the tables and aimed his wand at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore felt himself get pulled towards Harry but was stopped when the corner of the table struck him in-between the legs, Dumbledore groaned but didn't get any rest because a few seconds later Harry struck him in the face with a kick and Dumbledore stumbled back until he was stopped by a wall.

Harry fired a bone breaking curse at him which Dumbledore barley dodged, before returning fire at Harry. Harry quickly constructed a wind shield which blocked Dumbledore's attack, but before he could do anymore, Voldemort shot another curse at Harry who jumped off the table but was then hit by a stunner from Dumbledore which caused him to fall backwards.

Voldemort fired an acidic spell at Dumbledore who dodged before summoning a water whip from his wand, Voldemort did the same with a fire whip. The two whips clashed repeatedly, soon Harry got up but made himself invisible and decided to wait for a second so he could catch his breath.

He slowly and silently made his way over until he was behind Voldemort, he looked back and forth between his opponents and smirked before he made himself visible. The shocked look on Dumbledore's face was brilliant, and he internally laughed at the fact that Voldemort hadn't noticed him yet. He summoned Dumbledore's glasses which flew straight at Voldemort who barley dodged being hit in the face by them, at the same time he summoned Voldemorts portkey which flew to his hands.

"Never let people say I hit a guy with glasses" Harry joked

Harry knew the glasses helped Dumbledore read magical signatures and were very rare and expensive, with that knowledge he crushed the glassed before Dumbledore shot a spell at him. He tossed Voldemorts portkey and had it take the damage from the spell which resulted in its destruction, then Voldemort shot a snake out of his wand. Harry punched the snake in the face and grabbed its tail with the same arm and threw it back at Voldemort in the space of three seconds.

Voldemort banished the reptile when Harry shot another snake which landed on the floor and stuck its fangs into Voldemorts foot. Dumbledore tried to bind Harry but Harry responded with binding ropes made up of razor wire which wrapped around Dumbledore's legs before he managed to get rid of them.

Blood poured from Dumbledore's legs, and Voldemort just managed to get rid of the snake and remove most of the venom. The two enemies shared a look, after an almost telepathic agreement, they turned on the biggest threat. Harry Potter, once they were done with him then the two would go back to fighting each other, Voldemort for dominance and control and Dumbledore for the greater good.

Voldemort reactivated his fire whip and tried to burn Potter who activated a lightning whip in response, the two whips clashed while Dumbledore took a breath and formulated a plan. Harry ducked the whip and used his own to slash Voldemorts chest.

Dumbledore flashed a bright light which blinded Potter long enough for Voldemort to hit him in the face with the whip. Harry's right cheek burnt and he screamed in surprise. Harry shot a water jet which got rid of the fire whip but Voldemort kept fighting and hit him with a banishing spell which sent him flying into a wall. Dumbledore took the opportunity to hit him with a stunner and the strongest binding curse he could muster.

Voldemort threw a cutting curse at his face, which caused Harry's non-burnt cheek to bleed, Voldemort followed it up with a bone breaker which resulted in a few broken ribs for Harry, Dumbledore hit him with another stunning spell before Voldemort magically tossed him in the air. Dumbledore hit him with one more stunning blast before Voldemort decided to end it.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" He roared, the green deathly light flew forwards, everyone watched the light soar through the air and straight at Harry, they saw it hit Harry straight in the chest. Harry landed on the head table, the body bind unleashed and his movement ceased.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly, looking at Harrys deceased body. 'Such a waste' he thought 'he would have been invaluable on the light side'. He then fired a spell at Voldermort and the two continued duelling.

* * *

"NO!" Lilly screamed as she watched on, James hugged her tightly, looking equally broken. Sirius and Remus were silenced, they looked on in complete shock.

* * *

In Grimmauld place, the situation was not better. Many people were openly crying, Sirius and Remus were replicating the same reaction of their younger selves. The others who weren't crying looked very close to doing so, tears dripped down Ginny's face as she collapsed into a chair. She dropped her face into her hands.

"No!" She cried softly "No, no, please Harry! Please! Please don't do this to me! Harry, I love you, please don't do this to me!"

' _Harry'_ She called out through the bond _'Harry, please, please talk to me! It's me, Ginny, Harry please. I love you, come back to me!_ '

"What do we do now?" One person asked, Ginny snapped up and glared at the order member.

"What do you mean what are we going to do?! We're going to wait for Harry to get up and kick their collective arses!" She said it with such conviction that even she forgot that she was crying a moment ago.

"He was hit by the killing curse!" One member pointed out

"Yeah, a second time" Ginny retorted "He'll survive, he has come way too far to do anything less than win" Right now Ginny was more furious with herself than the others, she felt so stupid for believing that this was the end.

"Look, I'm sorry but that's impossible"

"No it's not!" Ginny shouted "I know him better than all of you! When you all see him, you see 'miracle' Potter, when I see him I see a person who is not going to let anything stop him from doing what he needs to do. And right now, he needs to get up and fight!"

"Yeah!" Daphne wiped her tears and stood by Ginny "he does impossible things daily, if anyone can come back from this, it's him."

Soon Astoria stood up, Neville as well. Sirius and Remus too, eventually everyone joined. All of them, all of them stood in a united front. All of them placed their hopes on Harry Potter, not the boy-who-lived and not the vigilante Curse, but Harry Potter.

* * *

While Voldemort continued battling Dumbledore, Harry opened his eyes. He looked up, expecting to see Voldemort and Dumbledore but he didn't. All he saw was white, he slowly made his way to his feet. He looked around and saw nobody was there.

"Never thought I'd see you again" Harry said loudly, a chuckling noise was heard from behind him.

Harry smiled, before he turned around. In front of him was a tall man, he had long white hair that reached to his shoulders and had a streak of black in it, he also had a short white beard. He wore white shoes, a completely white suit and leaned on a black cane. His green eyes looked straight at Harry.

"How are you doing?" The man asked

"Just dandy" Harry shrugged "What am I doing here Merlin? Not that I'm complaining" Harry added

"Well, it's simple really, I wanted to have one last conversation with you." Merlin smiled "Take a seat" He gestured to the two chairs that had magically appeared, Harry shook his head in amusement before sitting down.

"You know, I think this place needs more colour" Harry idly commented

"Yes it does." Merlin chuckled "Now Harry, why do you think I wanted to talk to you?"

"Well I remember fighting with Dumblesloth and Voldyshorts, they tag teamed me and then the because of the idiots I got hit with a killing curse...again. Now, we both know that I'm going to get up and deal with the two, so you must have something important to tell me before I do."

"Right as always." Merlin replied "When you wake up, after you've dealt with those two imbeciles, I would like you to finally take my place."

"What?!" Harry blurted out "Are you sure?!"

"Yes" Merlin nodded "You're finally ready to do it, when you were younger you wanted to experience the world and then you didn't want to leave because of a certain redhead. She's nice by the way, really proud of you for bagging her. Well, if you have the plan I think you have, she can join you"

"Really?!" Harry asked hopefully "I had planned it but you approve?!"

"What does it matter? You were going to do it anyway, weren't you?" Merlin said with a knowing smile

"Yeah" Harry smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head "as long as she wants to do it"

"And if she doesn't?" Merlin asked curiously

"I'll stay with her until she dies then do it on my own." Harry replied "It's entirely up to her, I'm not going to force anything on her"

"You really do love her don't you?"

"Merlin" Harry let out a breath "I remember when I was younger, I remember you spending a lot of time convincing me that I'm worth affection, that I'm worth love. There's one thing you said to me, one thing that I'll always remember."

"I've said a lot of things worth remembering" Merlin said proudly "but which particular one are you talking about?"

"You told me 'power can be lost, money can be stolen, looks can fade and people can die but love, real love, true love always stays with you. A family, no matter how unusual or simple, a real family can never be broken'. I've never forgotten that, Ginny is my family, I'm sure of that."

"And you're willing to spend the rest of your life with her?"

"Yes" Harry said without any doubt "yes I am, I wouldn't have even suggested the soul bond if I didn't."

"Very well" Merlin stood up and Harry did the same, the two hugged each other. "I'll miss you son"

"You too, old man" Harry hugged him tightly, eventually the two broke away.

"I remember when I first saw you" Merlin reminisced as he ruffled Harry's hair "you were a tiny thing, short and underweight, a breeze would have knocked you over. But look at you now, strong and powerful, good looking and rich. I did a great job with you, if I do say so, now I want you to go back and kick some arse."

"Sure thing" Harry took a few steps back, he turned around so Merlin couldn't see the tears that were dripping from his face "I'll miss you"

"And I'll miss you, now dry those eyes, I'll always be here for you. I'll always be in your heart, now accept your position. Accept your full power and make me proud."

Harry did as he was told and wiped his eyes, he smiled and gave Merlin one last glance but the old man had already disappeared. He shook his head in amusement, before he prepared himself. He closed his eyes, closed them shut, and kept them close tightly. He was like that for several seconds, when he opened his eyes.

He was on the head table, Dumbledore and Voldemort were still duelling, it seems they hadn't noticed him get up. He rubbed his eyes, before he sat up, he picked his holy wand up. He pushed off the table and stood up, Dumbledore and Voldemort still hadn't noticed and continued to do battle from their position in the middle of the hall.

He felt the power surge in him, his green eyes blazed as is they hosted a fire. His body healed itself, he relaxed, and let out a sigh of relief.

' _Ginny_ ' He called ' _Ginny, I'm back_ '

* * *

"Harry!" Ginny screamed out loud, everyone in Grimmauld place looked at her before looking at the screen. They're eyes widened as they saw Harry Potter standing as if nothing had happened, they looked at Ginny who wanted to act smug thanks to her accurate prediction. But at the moment she was just so happy that she was right, Remus and Sirius were so shocked that they're eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

* * *

The younger marauders were also in a similar position, Sirius and Remus mirrored their older selves while Lily and James were clapping and jumping on their seats and cheering.

"THAT"S MY SON!" Lily yelled with pride "MY BOY!"

"HARRY POTTER! WOO! GO ON SON! GET THEM!" James cheered

"Damn prongs!" Sirius exclaimed "You Potters are amazing!"

"Holy fuck!" Remus shouted, not really caring about language or keeping calm.

* * *

' _Hey Gin_ ' Harry called her mentally ' _let me deal with dumb and dumber, then when I get home I have a surprise for you_ '

' _Goddamn it Harry, the next time you nearly die I will kill you, revive you and kill you again! Do not scare me like that again! You're lucky I'm too happy to be mad at you right now!_ '

' _Yes dear, now excuse me, I have to end this_ ' Harry mentally ended the call

Dumbledore had just dodged a killing curse and fired a stunner, Voldemort had just blocked the stunner and was about to shot an eye melting curse while Dumbledore placed a shield up as he recognised the spell that Voldemort was about to use.

Suddenly Voldemort was blasted from behind and flew across the hall and crashed against the entrance doors, a second later Dumbledore's shield was smashed and he also flew and hit the wall next to the entrance door.

They both looked up to see Potter standing there, a big smile plastered on his face. The two of them were in total shock, Harry looked at them and they looked back. Furious red and shocked blue eyes met blazing green ones, neither man would admit it but they felt incredibly uncomfortable under Potters gaze.

"HOW?!" Voldemort shouted "HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!"

"Simple, I didn't die" Harry smiled, soaking in the stunned looks he was getting from Dumbledore and the utter rage that was radiating from Voldemort.

"The horcrux!" Dumbledore shouted as if he had just solved a massive mystery "That's how your alive!"

"You mean the one in my scar?" Harry asked

"WHAT?!" Voldemort blurted out in surprise

"No" Harry continued, ignoring Voldemort "I got rid of that before I even came to Hogwarts"

"Impossible!" Dumbledore replied

"I do impossible things daily, I would've though that you would've learnt that by now." Harry flicked his left wrist and Merlin's wand came into his hand. He swapped wands and put his holly wand in his left and the Merlin wand in his right. "Now, I'm going to do one more impossible thing and beat the both of you"

"Two wands won't make a difference Potter" Voldemort rose

"I must agree" Dumbledore also rose "needless to say, you are outnumbered..."

"But not outmatched." Harry interrupted "You see Dumbledore, Voldemort, I have a secret. One I've been hiding for a long, long time. Even Ginny doesn't know it, at least, not yet."

"What secret?!" Voldemort demanded "I highly doubt anything you do will beat me"

"Ten galleons says you're wrong" Harry responded, wasting time, he could see their curious minds demanding to know what he was talking about.

"Harry" Dumbledore spoke before Voldemort could "what secret?"

"I guess I might as well tell you." Harry sighed but he still looked incredibly happy "I, Harry James Potter am...way better looking than the both of you but you already knew that."

"Enough of this!" Voldemort shot a killing curse at Harry, Harry calmly raised his right hand and blocked it with Merlin's wand.

The result was two wide-eyed wizards staring at him with shell shocked expressions, Voldemort eventually raised out of his shock and fired another killing curse. Harry used his holly wand in his left hand and flicked the curse away. Voldemort fired the curse two more times, this time Harry didn't attempt to block them. The first curse landed inside his mouth and the second hit him in the chest.

A victorious smile made its way across Voldemorts face, Dumbledore decided to take the opportunity to fire a body binding curse at Voldemort but before he could he stopped, he was surprised by what he saw. Voldemort had a look on his face, a completely foreign one that had never occupied Voldemorts face since he was a child, a look of complete fear.

Dumbledore looked in the direction that Voldemort was looking at and saw the reason for his fear, in fact Dumbledore now had a similar expression. Standing there, as if nothing was wrong, was Harry Potter. Looking at Harry, you couldn't tell that he was hit with a killing curse, he didn't even look remotely hurt. Harry raised his head before spitting something out, but what he spat out was a green light.

This left Voldemort and Dumbledore with multiple questions, did Harry find a way to block the killing curse? How did he do it? Is that all he can do? What other surprises does he have? Did he just spit out the killing curse?

"Nasty!" Harry grimaced "That tasted like death! Fortunately it didn't leave a taste, snogging would be very awkward if it did"

"W...What...are you?!" Voldemort trembled without realising it

"I was getting to that before you interrupted me, you idiotic dunderhead!" Harry responded before spitting once more to get the taste out "I am the boy-who-lived, youngest tri-wizard champion ever, I'm also the heir to Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin"

"Impossible!" Voldemort seemed to have forgotten about his fear "I'm the heir!"

"No, you're family is a part of a family descended from Slytherin's cousin" Harry calmly replied "I'm from the direct line, did you know that my mother was in fact a decedent of Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Guess she wasn't the 'pathetic muggleborn' you all thought her to be, my father was descended from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. I'm also the chosen heir to the founders, you want to know the best part? I'm also the chosen heir to Merlin"

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Dumbledore bellowed in anger, if anyone was worthy of being Merlin's chosen heir than it would be him.

"Oh yeah?" Harry smirked "I, Harry James Potter do hereby swear on my life and magic that I am the heir to Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Merlin and..."

Voldemort and Dumbledore lost their patience, they each fired the strongest spell they could manage. Voldemort used an overpowered killing curse whole Dumbledore used an overpowered version of a stunner, one that would be able to knock out two dragons easily. The spells flew but fizzled out before they hit Harry who decided to finish his oath.

"I am the master of death" He whispered, but the power of his voice made his words echo throughout the hall. "So mote it be" A golden light glowed around him, signalling that the oath had taken effect. Harry looked himself over, as if he was checking for injuries.

"Nope" He shook his head while looking unbelievably amused "still alive". While Dumbledore and Voldemort tried to process what just happened, a number of collective people shouted the same word.

* * *

"WHAT?!"

* * *

The marauders were all looking at each other, words couldn't come out of their mouths . All of their jaws had dropped, and their eyes widened so much that they nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Lil" James whispered "did he just say the 'master of death?'"

"I...think he did" She whispered back

"Oh...I don't know how to react to that"

* * *

Meanwhile, in Grimmauld place, everyone there was having the same problem. Each and everyone of them looked at the other, as if they were asking for confirmation about whether or not it was true. Seeing as none of them knew, they all turned their eyes on Ginny who also appeared to be in shock. Or at least that's what her dropped jaw indicated.

"Ginny, did you know this?" Daphne asked

"No!" Ginny shook her head quickly "Harry told me about the being descended from Merlin and the founders part but not the part about being the bloody 'master of death'! He told me recently that he wanted to tell me something after he beat Voldemort, I guess that was it"

"Wow" Neville breathed out "Harry never does anything half-assed, does he?"

* * *

Dumbledore and Voldemort now felt that they were in over their heads, in front of them stood the heir to the founders and Merlin, but also the master of death. Voldemort thought that Dumbledore had the elder wand, so did Dumbledore who was looking at his wand as if it had just scammed him out of his entire fortune.

"But I have the elder wand!" Dumbledore eventually regained his voice

"You?!" Harry laughed "You think it would be that easy to get your hands on the tools to become the master of death?! Do you think that anyone could master death as long as they had a very specific cloak, wand and stone?! No, Dumbledore, you're not nor will you ever be the master of death. Not as long as I'm living, and seeing as I'm immortal, that's forever.

Both of you dreamed of escaping death but all you've done is bring it to your door, death can't be stopped, at least not for the rest of you. Now, let's end this, I've got a beautiful red head waiting for me and I'm pretty sure I'll have to spend a lot of time making up for the fact that I agreed to this duel and for not telling her"

Harry shook his head and hopped on the spot as if to warm up, he stared at his opponents with his blazing emerald eyes. Neither Dumbledore nor Voldemort were willing to make the first move.

"Well? I'm waiting" Harry taunted

Voldemort had a moment of Gryffindor courage and unleashed fiendfyre from his wand, the gigantic fire took the shape of a massive snake, it roared as it charged towards Harry. Harry looked at it with disinterest, he pulled his head back, then as if it was a candle on a cake, he let out a breath of air which extinguished the wild fire.

"You know" Harry said as if he was thinking about something "if I was you then I would've been on my knees and begging for a compromise, but then again, I have a fully functioning brain."

Dumbledore fired a bright blue spell at Harry who swatted it at Voldemort who barely managed to put up a shield in time, Voldemort fired a red one and Harry did the same thing by swatting at Dumbledore who also got a shield up just in time. The two looked at each other, wondering what to do, before they decided on a join attack. Dumbledore with his Expelliarmus and Voldemort with his Avada Kedavra, the two beams went straight at Harry who used both of his wands to swat them away.

The two got desperate and both fired a large amount of varying spells at Harry who blocked or redirected them all, this continued for several minutes and the two were getting desperate. Harry wasn't even remotely tired, in fact, he looked pretty bored. Voldemort and Dumbledore were getting tired, while Harry seemed to be defending himself as if it was a natural response that he didn't need to control. He seemed to be in thought.

"What..." Dumbledore panted "are...you...doing?!"

"I was deciding which one of you to deal with first" Harry answered

"Are you toying with us?"

"I just wanted you both to feel like you put in a good effort, I'd hate for you to die embarrassed." Harry said as he idly blocked Voldemorts torture curse "Okay, enough of this, I've lost my patience with the both of you."

With a wave of his right wand Dumbledore found him self thrown upwards and hit the ceiling with tremendous force, as he plummeted down he was hit with another spell which caused him to crash into the metal entrance doors. Before Dumbledore could even make a sound he was hit with a binding curse, the end result was Dumbledore landing on the floor while looking as stiff as a plank and his face took the responsibility of greeting the floor for him.

Voldemort was about to fire a curse at Harry when he found his wand hand chopped off, he screamed in pain and surprise and was only able to take a step back when Harry shot him in his left leg with a bullet spell, he then repeated the process with the right leg. Voldemort tried to grab his wand with his only remaining hand but as he grabbed the wand, he found his hand and wand frozen in a ball of ice which was frozen to the floor.

Harry calmly summoned Voldemort over and the dark wizard landed on the floor in front of him, he gave Voldemort a look of disgust and hate before he brought his right leg up and smashed the ice with his foot, causing Voldemorts hand and wand to shatter. Voldemort writhed in pain, he looked up to see those killing curse eyes staring at him, he looked up and saw death.

Harry slowly raised his wand and aimed it at Voldemorts face, Voldemort closed his eyes. He knew pleading wouldn't work, not with Potter at least, a single tear dripped down his face. He knew that he would die this moment, he could feel the heat from Potters wand and the unparalleled power from Potter himself. It was hopeless.

"No" Harry said suddenly, he cast some spells on Voldemort to stop him from bleeding out "you're not getting off that easy"

"You're not going to kill me?" Voldemort asked softly, internally he was ecstatic at the thought of not dying.

"No" Harry spoke in a soft and low voice "there are things worse than death and I intend to show you them."

"What?"

"Exactly what I said, dying is too good for you." Harry said with a constantly rising voice "You've done too much, you've ruined and taken the lives of countless people including the great Charles Potter and his wife, my grandparents. You took the lives of the smartest muggleborn witch alive and her devoted husband, my parents! Because of you my godfather spent years in Azkaban and because of you countless people have been raped and murdered! I can't even mention all your victims and crimes because I'd be here all bloody day!

But, what you did to me, I can mention that. You took away my family, because of you I had to suffer being a slave and I had to suffer through pain and torture! I had to have nightmares, I had to take the responsibility of the world on my bloody shoulders and do you know what the best part is?" Harry asked as he leaned closer

"I've won!" He shouted in Voldemorts face "I have won! I'm not going to kill you. NO! No, no you need to suffer! Suffer like everyone else has suffered! Suffered because you had to prove yourself to be better, well you're not! You're not at the top of the food chain, when I'm done with you will be right at that bottom! Once I'm done with you, you will be weaker than a baby muggle!

I'm going to make sure you live the rest of your miserable, putrid life knowing that you can never beat me, knowing that your followers died and you're all alone! Knowing nobody will come for you as you live a life of pain and horror and you'll pray, pray for a quick death but you won't receive that mercy. No, you'll die slowly and painfully. You'll die knowing that your power left you and you'll die knowing one important thing. One thing, the one thing that will always ring in your ears and occupy your mind, the one thing that you can't escape because in your black decaying heart, you know it to be true. The one thing that will explain everything to you when you wonder how you got to be where you are and the one thing that many wished to say to you.

This thing, this thing that I'm saying on behalf of all the lives you've ruined and all the lived you've taken and thrown away, is the following words: I BEAT YOU!" Harry stood up straight and hit Voldemort with a crucio from both wands, he screamed in agony for a few seconds before Harry released him.

"I want you to pray, pray that the day you're sweet death finally comes to you that I won't be the one to take you to hell, because if I do then you'll be running to hell just to get away from me"

Harry hit him with the torture curse again, this time he left it on for a few more seconds than before. With the power of his curse, Harry ruined Voldemorts brain easily. Harry looked at the pitiful sight before him, Voldemort was now in the same state that his death eaters put the Longbottoms in. He looked at him and decided that wasn't enough, he devolved into Voldemorts mind.

It was ruined, a result of years of dark arts dependency and the powerful torture curses from Harry. Harry operated quickly, not wanting to spend anymore time in here than he had to. He got out of his mind, and stunned Voldemort, he was pleased with what he had done.

Besides ruining his mind even more, Harry made it so the words 'I beat you' echoed constantly in his mind, it was unneeded but Harry felt it was worth doing. He turned to see Dumbledore stand up, after he had just gotten rid of the binding spell.

"Harry, stop this!" He ordered, just as he spat blood from his mouth.

"Too late, I've beat him"

"What?!"

"Voldemorts a mess, it would take a good mind healer years and years of daily work to undo the damage I've done but then again, I doubt they'd put in the effort. I told you Dumbledore, I told you constantly that I'd win the war and I'd do it my way and I have. I've prevented war, no matter what garbage you spew, you cannot deny that. Plus I haven't really killed him so you can't complain, everyone wins, now I'm hungry. Do the elves serve Chinese?"

"This shouldn't have happened!" Dumbledore roared "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEATEN HIM!"

"Oh yeah?" Harry raised an eyebrow "Who should have then?"

"ME!" Dumbledore screamed "I AM ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! DEFEATER OF GRINDLWALD AND I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE TO BEAT HIM!"

"The prophecy said that it'd have to be me" Harry pointed out

"NO! THE PROPHECY SAID ONE OF YOU HAD TO DIE! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DIE AND THEN I WAS SUPPOSED TO DEFEAT VOLDEMORT! I WAS SUPPOSED TO DEFEAT HIM AND BRING HIM IN AND BE HAILED AS A HERO AGAIN AND YOU TOOK THAT AWAY FROM ME! YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Harry didn't really know what to feel at the moment, anger at Dumbledore's plan for him to die? Exasperation at the idiotic plan? But he finally settled on an emotion, he started laughing. Laughing at the hypocrisy of Dumbledore being above killing one moment and threatening to kill the next and the fact that he was so fully raged that he forgot that Harry was the master of death. Dumbledore became even more furious because of the laughter and in his rage, he pulled a surprising move and fired a killing curse at Harry, who still hadn't stopped laughing. The killing curse struck him but Harry made no move to suggest he even felt it.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen" Harry chuckled "that was a dark curse Dumbledore, shot directly from the leader of the lights wand. I guess you'll be joining Voldemort in Azkaban as well."

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Dumbledore began firing spell after spell, he was either not noticing or not caring about the fact that Harry was blocking them all "I AM THE LEADER OF THE LIGHT! I AM DUMBLEDORE! I AM…"

"Quite frankly, getting a big head!" Harry interrupted, before swatting away another spell.

"BE QUIET YOU INSOLENT BRAT!"

"Hey Dumbles" Harry called out "I gave Voldemort a speech, would you like one? I'll keep it nice and simple" Harry dodged a spell before hitting Dumbledore with a spell that sent him crashing against the wall

"Your name has been dragged through the mud, you've lost your fame and you've lost nearly all of your followers. You're no longer a light wizard, you stopped being one, not when you fired that killing curse but way before that. You weren't light when you manipulated those around you, you weren't light when you lied, cheated, stole and didn't give a damn about anyone who wasn't you or important to your plans.

You've fallen Dumbledore, you've fallen and you can't get up. Ignoring the old man joke for a second, you're a disappointment Dumbledore, you're also the reason behind Voldemort and me. You're mistakes made both of us, so while I thank you for helping to make me who I am today, that doesn't mean you won't suffer for what you've done."

"NO!" Dumbledore shouted defiantly, he aimed his wand at Harry who simply raised his.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted, Dumbledore flew off his feet and his wand flew to Harry who tossed caught it in his left. He slowly placed it down on the table next to him, before putting both of his own wands back in his holsters.

Dumbledore growled and leapt to his feet to charge at Harry, Harry shook his head in exasperation before reaching to a nearby table and hiding what he reached behind his back. Dumbledore was too angry to notice this, he ran at Harry who looked as calm as could be. Harry took a step back and waited until Dumbledore was a sufficient distance away, once Dumbledore got close Harry pulled his arm back and tossed the object which ricocheted off the floor and struck Dumbledore in-between his legs.

Dumbledore fell to the floor with a cry, and looked at the offending object. All of his anger and hate at Harry had just increased tenfold when he saw that it was in fact another plate. Harry hit Dumbledore with a binding spell that would leave the old man tied up in razor wires, as the blood poured from him, Harry silenced him.

"Well, I think I just won" He said out loud, before more could be said he was covered in a golden light that originated from both Voldemort and Dumbledore, it gave him a brilliant feeling. Soon the faded but Harry's grin did not. "Ah, thank you guys for sharing but you didn't have to give me all of your magic, never mind, unlike you two I'll use it wisely and for a good cause."

* * *

The marauders cheered and hugged each other, tightly. They screamed and clapped and bounced in their seats, even Sirius was willing to admit that he cried. Remus was clapping like a hyperactive madman who had ate a lot of sugar. James and Lily had a look made up of pure pride and they couldn't help but smile, James's grin actually matched the one that Harry had.

* * *

In Grimmauld place, there was a similar situation. Everyone was bouncing up and down, cheering and screaming. Remus had gotten so caught up in the celebration that he actually kissed Tonks in front of everyone, Daphne and Astoria hugged as tightly as humanly possible. Neville was clapping so hard that he actually hurt his hands, Sirius had actually gulped down an entire bottle of fire whiskey before he stood on the table and began proclaiming about the fact that he had the best godson in the world.

Ginny was crying tears of joy, her hands covered her mouth and didn't say anything. Words could not express how happy she felt, even if someone invented a word that could she wouldn't use it as she felt it wouldn't do her emotions the justice they deserve. While she was initially peeved off about only just realising that she was married to the master of death, she quickly realised five seconds after the reveal that he probably had a good reason for not telling her.

That didn't mean that she still wouldn't force him to tell her about it though. But at the moment, she was too happy to do anything but kiss Harry when she saw him, speaking of whom, Harry stood in the hall and surveyed the scene.

* * *

The hall was repaired of whatever damage happened during the duel, Voldemort was on the floor by the head table without his hands and a hole in both of his legs along with various cuts, his mind was also ruined and at the moment he was about as powerful as a kitten, just not as cute...or fluffy. Dumbledore was also battered and bruised, he was bleeding and not just from the razor wire. His hair was also burnt and ruined as Harry decided to experiment with lightning as he got bored waiting for Stink to arrive with the aurors.

Soon Amelia Bones burst in with an army of aurors, Harry explained his involvement before depositing two memories into vials. The first was where he, Dumbledore and Voldemort challenged each other to a duel and the second was everything that happened after Harry revealed he was the master of death. He didn't think it would be good for his heritage and secret to be told on the daily prophet, fortunately Voldemort was mentally broken and while he was waiting Harry hit Dumbledore with an old spell that would cause him pain if he had tried to reveal Harry's secret and would kill him if he did. The best part...Dumbledore knew that.

The rage on his face, made the day so much more fun for Harry who was positive Dumbledore had burst a blood vessel. He had to force himself not to laugh at the Weasley red face of the headmaster, the aurors removed the razor wire and placed magic dampening handcuffs and a binding cure on him.

Voldemort and Dumbledore were taken away and Harry was asked to come to the trial to provide evidence, he gladly agreed and once they were all gone he disappeared and popped into Grimmauld place. He landed on the table in the kitchen and saw everyone look at him. He looked at everyone with a massive smile and hopped off the table.

"I'm back bitches!"

He was immediately swarmed with hugs and claps on the back, a few people ruffed his hair as well. The Greengrass sisters and Neville joined the twins in enveloping him in a bear hug, once they were done Sirius and Remus came over.

"Well done Harry!" Remus hugged the boy he considered to be his nephew

"Thanks Moony" Harry hugged him right back

"By the way" Remus broke the hug "I should let you know, we all saw everything"

"I know"

"That's not what I meant, Padfoot saw it and is now incredibly drunk and proud"

"PRONGSLET!" A cheery Padfoot ran up to him and hugged him tightly, before Harry could return the hug, Padfoot picked him up and started carrying him all around the kitchen. "That's my godson!" He shouted "My godson! Best godson in the world! Defeater of Voldemort! Have your godsons defeated Voldemort?! No?! Thought not! All hail Prongs Junior!"

"Hail" Everyone shouted and laughed as they did, eventually Sirius put Harry down.

"Potter" Moody's gruff voice caught his attention "I have one thing to say to you, well done! Never have I been more proud of a person, you considering becoming an auror?"

"No thank you" Harry politely declined "I'd probably go into quidditch, but I have other things I need to do"

"Now Harry" Remus spoke "would you kindly mind telling us how you became the master of death?"

"I'll need secrecy oaths from all of you and I'll explain it to everyone tomorrow when all of you are sober enough to make those oaths, but for now where the hell is my wife?"

"She went home" Astoria answered "told us to tell you to meet her there"

"Okay, I have to go and I'll be back tomorrow evening to explain everything, oh and the trial is tomorrow. Amelia wanted to make it quick so Dumbledore had less time to find a way out of it. Goodbye" Harry popped out of Grimmauld place

"That's my godson!" Sirius proclaimed proudly. Everyone else was too happy or amused to tell him they already knew and the fact that he already said that over fifty times.

* * *

Harry soon arrived at Potter mansion, he greeted the elves and went up to his bedroom. He entered the bedroom just as Ginny came out of the bathroom that was connected to the room, he closed the door and braced himself for the inevitable screaming and shouting.

"Listen Gin" Harry spoke softly "I know you might be upset and angry over me not telling you but I really wanted to tell you and I..."

Harry was interrupted as Ginny banished away all of her clothes and charged at him, she jumped and wrapped her legs around his waist, she pulled his face down to hers and engaged him in a passionate kiss. Harry was surprised but went with it, and carried her to the bed where he gently placed her down.

"What's this for?" Harry asked as he began trailing kisses along her neck "I thought you'd be mad over the whole 'master of death' thing"

"I was but I'm sure you had a good reason for it" Ginny whispered as she placed kisses along his jaw "and I'm doing this because I figured you deserve a treat for stopping Voldemort, again."

"You're perfect" Harry breathed before he reclaimed her lips

* * *

The next morning they woke up, Harry gently kissed her forehead. She beamed at him, and returned the kiss except she placed it on his lips.

"I love you Harry" She said

"I don't blame you, I'm brilliant" Harry replied

"Stop being a prat for a second please, I really am proud of you. Voldemort and Dumbledore, you fought them both and that was when they were both at your level of strength. I'm so proud of you that I'm going to forget the stupidity of you accepting that duel"

"Yeah, sorry about that, sort of got stuck in the moment."

"Now, do I finally get to hear about how I got married to the master of death?"

"You're not the only person who wants to know, and I will tell you but can you do me a favour?"

"What favour?"

"Can you wait until the trial is finished? Trust me, if things work out the way I think it will then it'll be easier to explain"

"Fine" Ginny sighed "you defeated the two strongest wizards in the world, I think I can wait for a few hours longer."

"Thank you, now let's go get ready, I have a feeling that today will be very interesting for you"

* * *

Soon they arrived at court, the judge took his seat and so did Harry who was accompanied by Ginny, serious, Daphne, Astoria, Neville, all of the Weasleys, Hermione and Sirius and Remus. Ron and Hermione looked like they didn't want to be with them and the feeling was mutual. Mrs Weasley was also outraged at the fact that Dumbledore was on trial, again.

Albus and Voldemort were brought out and locked in chains. Voldemort was charged with many crimes which surprised nobody, but they were wondering what Albus Dumbledore was doing there. It was then revealed that he challenged Harry and Voldemort to the par terram duel, which was apparently illegal to do. Harry hypothesised that Dumbledore thought he could probably be fine with the charges if he had beat Voldemort and made himself look like a hero, he was also charged with multiple counts of bribery and attempted murder by using the killing curse.

"Silence!" The judge ordered when the crowds began making a lot of noise. First they brought out evidence and testimonies that did prove that Dumbledore had bribed court and ministry officials in the past. Then they showed the memories that Harry had provided, soon everyone looked at Harry like he was the creator of magic.

Hermione, Ron and Mrs Weasley were all too shocked to speak. When it was revealed what Harry had done to Voldemort, many looked at him with fear and respect. Even more so when they found out that he had taken Voldemort and Dumbledore's magic, leaving the both of them as squibs. Eventually the trial ended, and both were found guilty.

"Your honour" Harry stood up

"Yes Lord Potter?" The judge asked

"If I may, would it be possible for me to decide the punishments for the both of them?"

"Hmm, I'd be willing to make an exception" The judge replied "just this once, mind you, consider it a thank you for your services."

"Thank you" Harry replied

"Harry" Ron and Hermione spoke but he ignore them

"Tom Riddle" Harry spoke "as I said before, death is too good for you. I sentence you to life in Azkaban, you are never to be freed and you will remain there until the day you die. Albus Dumbledore..."

"Harry, please..." Mrs Weasley tried to get his attention but he ignored her

"I sentence you to thirty years in Azkaban, you will no longer be headmaster of Hogwarts. All of your vaults and possessions will be checked, any stolen possessions you may have will be returned to their rightful owners and the rest will be used to provide St Mungo's with some well-deserved help. Consider it your way of helping people, also I want your wand."

"WHAT?!" Dumbledore shouted

"Well it's not like you need it and consider it your way of making up for the fact that you've stolen from me in the past"

"Those charges are acceptable" The judge agreed and slammed his gavel down.

The dementors came along with the aurors, but the dementors stopped and bowed to Harry who politely bowed back.

"Send word to the other dementors" Harry instructed them "those two need more attention than the other prisoners" The dementors nodded in understanding. Soon the court was adjourned and everyone walked away and Harry pulled Sirius aside.

"Me and Gin will meet you in your place later"

"Sure thing pup"

* * *

Harry took Ginny back home, he took her into the bedroom and sat her down. He sat next to her, he took a breath and looked at her.

"I'm going to tell you something important Ginny, and I want you to be quiet for a sec"

"Okay Harry" Ginny was a bit nervous as Harry looked very serious, not the person.

"You know the story where the three brothers get the deathly hallow items from death? The cloak, wand and stone?" Ginny nodded "Good, it'll make things quicker. Well, death is actually Merlin."

"WHAT?!"

"Gin, what happened to being quiet?" Harry gave her a small smile, and Ginny blushed a little before gesturing him to continue "Merlin wasn't exactly death, he was the master of death and he had the original hallows. He met the brothers, and decided to see if they were worthy to assist him and gave them copies of the hallows but the copies are nowhere near as good.

He had been looking for someone to accompany him and he made those hallows to check someone's worth, as in 'you're worthy to serve under me if you can get all the hallows'. Some idiot messed up the story and somehow Merlin became death in the story and those were the real hallows but he was actually the master of death and gave them the hallow copies.

He transferred the real hallows to me, so I can take his place because he had gotten tired of his position. He was lonely and got fed up, so he trained me to be his replacement. He told me to come back to this world and enjoy myself until I was ready to take over, the hallows in this world are not the deathly hallows but are actually the weaker copies.

If you manage to collect them all, then you get the opportunity to join me as my servant."

"Servant?" Ginny asked

"Yes, or apprentice or accomplice or something like that. Basically, you don't become the master of death but you assist him and gain powers similar to him, including immortality and the ability to stop aging although I could take away that power easily and return the person to the normal. Anyway, I have all the real hallows, apart from one but I can get that easily."

"What do you mean?"

"Merlin's wand is the original elder wand, my cloak that transforms into clothes and my 'Curse' costume for me and turns invisible is the original invisibility cloak. All I need is the original resurrection stone and I can get that easily, I would have gotten it before but I wasn't ready then, I am now though. Speaking of being ready, I have a proposal for you."

"Proposal?" Ginny said curiously

"Yes, as the master of death I'm immortal."

"And I'm not"

"No, you're not so I have two options. The first is I stay with you until you die naturally."

"What's the second?"

"You join me"

"WHAT?!" Ginny burst with shock

"You can join me, if you want Gin. If you don't want to then I wouldn't force it on you"

"But how Harry?"

"My fathers invisibility cloak, the stone in the ring that Voldemort turned into a horcrux and Dumbledore's wand. What do you think those three have in common?" Ginny thought about it for a moment before realisation hit her face like a bludgeoning curse.

"The hallow copies!"

"Yes Ginny, I'm offering you the chance to join me when I take the mantle of deaths master."

"What would happen if I accepted?" Ginny asked

"Other than the power increase and gaining immortality" Harry smiled in amusement "you'd accompany me to get the final hallow for myself, then you'd combine the copied hallows and we'll both take our roles. Then... it happens"

"What happens?" Ginny asked with a sense of worry

"We die" Harry answered, he raised his hand to stop Ginny from interrupting him "hear me out, we die in this world then we're reborn in a different world"

"A different world?" Ginny at that moment knew that if she couldn't detect Harrys emotions then she would've thought that he was lying

"Yes, we get reborn into a different world. The world could be entirely different or it could be the exact same as this one but with one difference. Maybe we get reborn as babies, maybe we'll be born in new bodies or in our current bodies and look just like we are now, then we get to spend some time in that world before we die and move off to the next world. However our deaths will happen when we feel like it but we're not allowed to stay in one world for more than five hundred years"

"But..." Ginny was trying to think of the right question but couldn't, so she settled with a simple one "why?"

"Death doesn't stop and neither does it's master" Harry answered "we need to die here so we can't die again in the future. In the future, in the other worlds, we wouldn't necessarily die, just move on. if you accept this then you and me can live together for all eternity and go off on adventures everywhere we go. If not then I will wait for you to pass, and go on my own. It's entirely up to you, I will not pressure you and I will not be sad or angry if you refuse. It's entirely..."

"Let's do it!" She interrupted him

"Wait, what?" It was now Harry who was surprised

"Harry I've always hated the idea of growing old and not having fun, you're offering me an eternity of adventure. Plus, if we get on a world and decide we don't want to have adventures then we can just relax and have fun right?"

"Yes, we can. We have no actual obligations, once we accept the hallows then we'd die in this world and we can't live on any single world for more than five hundred years, other than that we have no obligations."

"Then that's brilliant! I get to spend an eternity with you! When can we do it?"

"Right now if you want, we're in prime physical form to do it, though I suppose our bodies won't matter seeing as we'll die but we can do it now. Actually, how about a month or so to spend time with everyone then we do it. It'd be best if we do it quickly, if we spend too much time with everyone then we may change our minds."

"I still can't believe this! I never would have dreamed that this would happen, I love you Harry"

"I love you too Ginny" He held her hand in his.

"Together for eternity?" His answer was a kiss on the lips.

"Together for eternity" The two enveloped each other in a tight hug.

* * *

The next day Harry met with everyone who witnessed his battle and explained everything and had them give him secrecy oaths about him being the master of death and what he and Ginny planned to do. It took a lot of convincing to get everyone to let them do it, especially Sirius but eventually they agreed.

Harry and Ginny spent the next month dividing their time with everyone and making the most of their last days on this world and they enjoyed every minute of it. McGonagall was the new Hogwarts headmaster with Flitwick as the new deputy, Snape had opened his own potions business. The Weasley twins were still a success and apparently Sirius had joined them, Remus returned to working at Hogwarts. Neville had made plans to work as a herbology assistant for Professor Sprout, hoping he could take over when she decides to leave.

Bill was enjoying his married life with Fleur, Charlie was still enjoying his life on the dragon reserve. Apparently Hermione and Ron had gotten together, Harry didn't know how to feel about that but decided to settle on not caring. Arthur had divorced Mrs Weasley, but from the sounds of it he was better off than she was. Dumbledore tried to get a retrial but failed miserably.

Harry left everything he had to Daphne, Neville, Sirius, Remus and Teddy Lupin and he cut a section off for the goblins and a different section dedicated to St Mungo's hospital and another to Hogwarts. Soon came the day when Ginny and Harry had to go, they said their goodbyes, not a single person wasn't emotional.

As far as the entire world knew, Harry and Ginny were going on a long holiday. Sirius was openly crying and kept saying how proud he was of Harry and insisted that if Harry had to leave then he should have as much fun as possible.

After the goodbye, Harry and Ginny took James Potters invisibility cloak, Albus Dumbledore's wand and the stone in Voldemorts ring and put them into a bag and headed to the veil. Once they snuck in, they walked towards the veil.

"What are we doing here?" Ginny asked

"We're off to retrieve the stone, then we can get started. Come on"

"What?! Through there?!" She pointed at the veil

"Ginny, you're with the master of death, trust that I know what can and can't kill you" Harry grabbed her hand "now come on"

Ginny growled but conceded the point, she closed her eyes and the two walked through. She felt a tingly sensation and opened her eyes a second later, and the two had just gotten out of the veil and were back in the department of mysteries.

"I know you're probably getting tired of this, but what?" Ginny said

"Well, the original resurrection stone was thrown through the veil by Merlin and we travelled to the point in time where it came out. Knowing Merlin, I assume it came here for a reason. Now give me a sec" Harry's eyes blazed for a second before he shut them tightly, he opened them seconds later. "It's in Hogwarts, let's go"

Harry grabbed her hand and the two apparated to Hogwarts, they found themselves in a dark corridor. Harry recognised it as the third floor, they slowly walked to the door in front of them. Harry prepared himself in case he saw Fluffy but what he saw surprised him, sleeping on the floor were the teenage versions of his parents.

"Harry…oh my god!" Ginny exclaimed once she saw what Harry was looking at.

* * *

The marauders were also a bit surprised.

"Is that us?" James asked

"Yeah" Lily nodded "Harry's actually here!"

"I can't believe this!" Sirius exclaimed

"Wait, I think he's waking us up" Remus said.

* * *

But before anyone could say anything the four were pulled violently out of their seats, they felt their entire bodies shake and seconds later, they opened their eyes and looked up to the ceiling. With a groan they sat up, before suddenly remembering where and who they were with. They looked up to see Harry and Ginny staring at them, Ginny with tears in her eyes and Harry who looked like he was close to crying.

"HARRY!" Lily jumped to her feet and pulled him into a hug "We saw, we saw everything!" Harry didn't say anything, he just started crying.

He hugged his mother as hard as he could without hurting her, she did the same. James had decided he didn't want to wait any more and joined in, Remus and Sirius looked at each other and after a bit decided to join them.

"Oi" Sirius said to Ginny "you want in on this or what?"

Ginny shook her head before joining them, nobody was sure how long they stood there. But each and every one of them were just too happy to care, sadly they had to eventually break up the hug.

"We saw everything" James said softly "that orb, it's the resurrection stone isn't it?"

"Yeah" Harry wiped away a tear "you really saw everything?" The four of them nodded

"Well, all of your life up until this point" Sirius said "apart from when you were having sex or on the toilet, no, thankfully that was cut out"

"And you're feelings on what I've done?" Harry asked the group but he was focused on his parents

"Harry, I have one thing to say to you" Remus spoke first "you are a bloody legend and the best thing that ever happened to me"

"Me too" Sirius added "you're the best godson I could wish for! In fact I'm rather jealous of you but I'm glad you decided to stick to one girl so us mere mortals could have a chance"

"Harry" James chuckled "I really am proud of you mate, I'd be proud even if you didn't beat Voldemort and Dumbledore."

"That's right Harry" Lily spoke as she had just finished cleaning away her tears "I am proud to call you my son and nothing anybody else can say will make me thing otherwise"

"Thank you" Harry looked like he was stopping himself from crying again "I love you all, really I do, but we have to go now"

"It's alright Harry" Lily replied "we know, but if you have to go then I want you to promise me that you'll stay safe"

"And I want you to promise me to have fun" James added "oh and don't lose your better half"

"I won't" Harry chuckled and ignored Ginny's smug look due to being the 'better half' "I love you all, I'm sorry but I'll have to erase your memories"

"What? Why?" Sirius asked

"I get it" Remus understood and decided to explain "if we remember everything then we could change the entire future, probably by killing Wormtail on sight. If we do then everything could be better or be a hundred times worse, wizards are forbidden from interfering with time. Don't argue Padfoot, we both know that he could do it without our consent if he wanted to, so don't make things more difficult for him"

"I wasn't going to!" Sirius exclaimed indignantly "By the way, I have to ask, why didn't you just kill Voldemort earlier? Why wait all that time?"

"Oh, there's a good reason for that actually." Harry replied "when a person takes the dark mark, there is a ritual that combines them with Voldemort. So even if Voldemort dies, he had the potential to come back by possessing one of his followers. That was his back up plan if the horcruxes failed and why I had to get rid of all of them."

"Blimey!" James exclaimed "Nothings ever simple with him, is it?"

"Hogwarts" Harry spoke "could you tell the elves to oblivate anyone with knowledge on the stone" The castle answered with a faint golden light that flew to Harry before going away "Thank you" Harry and the marauders looked at each other, before they enveloped each other in one last hug.

"We love you Harry" Lily whispered into his ear "and I am so proud of you"

"Now go and make us even more proud" James whispered in the other ear, soon the hug broke.

"I've said it before but I'll say it again, I love you guys!" Harry said before he raised his wand, with great reluctance he fired the spell "Obliviate" he waited a moment to see it had taken effect "now, you guys wondered into this room and found nothing here and you've now decided to go and sneak back to the common room before you get caught, now off you go"

Harry and Ginny watched as the marauders made their way out of the room, Ginny, sensing the emotions of her husband reached out and pulled him in a hug. They stood there for several moments before Harry had cried himself out.

"Bloody Merlin" Harry shook his head "he set this up"

"Why would he do that?"

"Last gift from him would be my guess"

"Harry, the stone, it showed the marauders your life."

"It's not just a resurrection stone Ginny. My wand makes the wand I gave you look like a twig, my cloak compared to yours is like comparing a Firebolt to a clean sweep and the stone I gave you only allows you to talk to the dead for a few minutes. That stone or orb is different, I could actually bring someone back from the dead with that if I wanted or see a person's death so I can prevent it in the future."

"Okay, you've made your point. Are we doing this now?"

"I see no reason not to" Harry said "are you ready Ginny?"

Ginny placed the cloak in her hands, while Harry's curse costume came on but the hood didn't cover his face, he held Merlin's wand or the real elder wand as it was, in his hand as Ginny picked up the other elder wand and placed it on top of the cloak. The orb floated over to Harry and stopped just before him, the stone was in Ginny's hand.

"Together for life" She said

"Together for eternity" He replied.

Ginny pushed the wand and stone on the cloak while Harry grabbed hold of the orb, the orb infused with Harry while Ginny's items merged before infusing with her. The two of them collapsed on to the floor, feeling the light draining from their eyes and the breath escaping their mouths.

They looked at each other, they looked one last time. Both had a smile on their faces, they weren't in pain, they weren't suffering. They closed their eyes, closing them and knowing that the world would be different when they opened them.

They closed them, knowing that when they opened, it'd be time for the next great adventure.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41 – What should I write next?

 **Hello guys, this is a message from the writer of this story, that's me. I wanted to thank you all for reading and sticking with me. I apologise for all the spelling mistakes, and any other mistakes I may have made. In the future I might go back and fix them, hopefully.**

 **I've just uploaded the last chapter and if you haven't read it yet then don't read the rest of this.**

 **I've got a few different story ideas, and they will be part of Harry Potter and the lightning Curse universe, you can consider the next story as a sequel. When Harry travels to a new world, a new story will take place, what story would you like to see next?**

* * *

 *** Harry becoming the older brother to Sirius black and Ginny being born in a muggle family, Dumbledore isn't bashed too much in this. (inspired by the story 'Time to Put Your Galleons Where Your Mouth Is' by Tsume Yuki)**

 *** Harry meeting a five year old version of himself and adopting him with Ginny and raising him. Bashing just like the previous story. (Younger Harry could be paired with either Ginny, Daphne, Astoria or Susan Bones)**

 ***Harry being born as the slightly older twin to the boy-who-lived and Ginny also having a younger twin. Bashing just like the previous story** (Harry's younger brother could be paired with either Ginny's twin, Daphne, Astoria or Susan Bones)

 ***Harry and Ginny meeting himself after the chamber of secrets incident and tells the younger version of himself how Dumbledore is trying to manipulate him. Bashing just like the previous story.** (Younger Harry could be paired with either Ginny, Daphne, Astoria or Susan Bones)

* * *

 **Choose from these options, I may chose the first story that one of you chose as I really want to start writing. Thank you all again for reading my work and for putting up with my mistakes, I'll try to be better and I love you all.**


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42:

 **Hello everyone, just to let you all know that I've looked over the reviews. And I appreciate the comments, I will be trying to make some improvements and I have decided on a story.**

 **I looked through the comments and asked some people and I narrowed the story choice down to the first and second option. I wanted to do all the stories and I will, it's just the matter of which one I'm going to do first. So if I don't choose the other stories then that just means I'll do them at a later date.**

 **To make things fair I flipped a coin to decide which of the two stories to write, because if it was up to me then I'd be permanently stuck trying to decide. And the story that I'm going to write is (drum roll) the one where Harry becomes Sirius's older brother and is raised alongside him.**

 **I haven't decided how much I'll be bashing Dumbledore, maybe a little or maybe a lot. Thank you all for your support and I'll try to make a great story.**

 **I'll post another update on this story to let you know when the other story is up.**


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

 **Hello guys, just wanted you all to know that the new story will be up today. There might be some changes from the canon such as ages of characters, but this isn't exactly like the canon. It's a new world where anything can happen.**

 **It's called Harry Potter and the Brothers Black, hope you enjoy it.**


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